Calling all Surcouf fans

[chuck]

This is dedicated to the French cruiser submarine Surcouf.


First question. The two rotating torpedo tubes that Surcouf carried under her aft deck. Are there shutters closing off the slot they fire through when they are trained for and aft? Or are they always exposed?

[Filipe Ramires]

She had two mounts after....one on the end of the deck and the other mid way between tower and stern. I'll take you're talking of the mount on the end of the stern deck. Not an area widely covered in the photos you can find. One photo of her in dry-dock shows the stern clearly and seems that that mount is opened to the elements...obviously the torpedo tubes having the usual doors.

[chuck]

So it's just an open slot on the hull side with a rotating torpedo tube visible inside?

Turmpeter's crude new 1/350 kit appears to try to depict the slots closed off with panels. But credibility of their depiction is cast into immediate doubt when they didn't seem to recognize that diagonal cross is usually used in drawing to denote an open aperture, and they scribed the diagonal cross onto the panels.

Also, trumpeter appears not have recognized that surcouf's 8" guns are mounted in a rotating turret! They not only didn't make provision to rotate the turret, but also missed depicting any of the seams on deck an superstructure that's there to facilitate rotation.

It's not a bad fitting kit, spoiled by the fact trumpeter has no clue what it is depicting.

[Filipe Ramires]

It can clearly be seen that there's a panel on the hull which is the cover of the torpedo mount. Basically the mount is made to fit symmetrically on the hull and to be able to rotate as well. This works for both after torpedo mounts. If it has some sort of armoured/thicker cover to protect the torpedo mounts from the elements that's another thing. Still, it's quite noticeable and it should be reflected on any model. I recall that neither the old Heller (1/400) or the HP (1/700) models had these features marked properly or at all on the side of the hull. Same applies to the rotating base of the 8'' turret which is even more noticeable then the torpedo mounts.

About Trumpy's model I haven't seen it myself just yet, however, I'm interested to take a look. What is strange is that plans of the Surcouf were free available online not long time ago in PDF file from the Marine National Arquives site. I wonder if they even got a decent research on the submarine.

[Shanghaied]

I have just got Hobbyboss' new model. Quite amazing how big the hull parts look besides a VII-boat!
Unfortunately the 8" turret and the torpedo mounts on the aft deck are not movable and the hangar don't opens. So some work to be done to make the model a bit more interesting

Now I have some questions:
Obviously the boat is shown in a later configuration. The sail is higher and it seems the direction finder seems to be altered too.
-Does anyone know, exactly what (visible) conversions were made and when?
-according to my information the boat was painted first like any french surface ship in light grey, later dark prussian blue (?) and then light grey/dark grey like on in the Hobbyboss instruction. Has anybody more information about this?
Thanks in advance

[peppe]

they are two pubblications, one polish "profile morskie 101" and one russian "??????? ???????? 2009-08" on this sub, the polish is bilingual (english-polish), the russian in russian only.
annexed some illustration, the books are full of foto, drawing etc.
ciao peppe

[Shanghaied]

Hi Peppe,

Thanks very much, that was exactly what I was looking for. Not sure if I can get the books here.
I will backdate her with the lower sail, and try if I can get the turret and torpedo tubes movable.

Do you know this? :
http://www.servicehistorique.sga.defens ... php?id=472

There are the original as built drawings and a lot of photos from the construction from the official french archives.

Greetings from Shanghai

[peppe]

ciao Shanghaied
i know the original plans of franch. do you know this film, it is a sequence, from minute 8,39, on surcouf with the turret turned.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb0v6l ... arine_news

note in the drawings the different shape of range finder after 1937, more hydrodinamic may be.
if you need some more foto send me your email address and i will send you images at better definition off line.
ciao peppe

[Shanghaied]

Thanks Peppe,

saw another version of the movie before, nice compilation of the prewar french navy.
I have quite a lot of pics and drawings now, only thing i could need is a pic or detail of the aft torpedotubes and a view of the inside of the sail in the original configuration. I am not exactly sure how the arrangement was with the windows and the enclosed(?) forward part.
I send you my e-mail per pm

Thanks for your great help

[calogero]

here some nice pic


http://www.air-defense.net/forum/index. ... ic=15214.0




here is like a bool you have to clik on the right corner down for look the pages
http://militarykits04.free.fr/magazines ... x.html#/32

[Shanghaied]

Hi Calogero

Thank you very much!
Great pictures and a lot of info in the articles.
Every piece completes my historic puzzle a bit more.

[D-Boy]

The only 1:700 scale kits of the Surcouf I know of are pre-assembled and pre-painted, released by Takara in Japan. These kits come with 200mm main armament barrels that have some intentional bumps on the barrels, as if intending to portray a step-down in the size of the shaft, as well as a flare or bloom at the end. In any case, they are not very cleanly molded, and beg for correction or replacement.

Can anyone provide a photograph of the barrels from the 1:350 kit? Can anyone provide a suggestion as to a suitable 200mm barrel replacement in 1:700 scale (I presume in brass).

[Shanghaied]

Hi D-Boy

When you look at the link above at http://www.airdefense..... you can see some very nice pics of the gun-barrels. Please note that the guns were equipped with a water tight muzzle cover and drive gear. Maybe that explains the bump.
Otherwise I think any 200 mm of a french "Washington Cruiser of this period should be ok. Maybe try "L'Arsenal" ?

Greetings from Shanghai

[D-Boy]

Hi D-Boy

When you look at the link above at http://www.air-defense.net/forum/index. ... ic=15214.0... you can see some very nice pics of the gun-barrels. Please note that the guns were equipped with a water tight muzzle cover and drive gear. Maybe that explains the bump.
Otherwise I think any 200 mm of a french "Washington Cruiser of this period should be ok. Maybe try "L'Arsenal" ?

Greetings from Shanghai

Many thanks for the pix and information - sorry for a belated reply.

[D-Boy]

Anyone on this thread built the Pit Road/Combat Sub resin version of this submarine in 1:350?

[Peter O]

Anyone on this thread built the Pit Road/Combat Sub resin version of this submarine in 1:350?

I bought one recently when FreeTime Hobbies had them on sale for $30, but I haven't started it yet. I've built their USS Grayback, and it was an excellent kit.

Peter

[herrmill]

Not necessarily plugging another site but there is a great thread with many detailed photos of Surcouf over on the Sub-Driver forum. You'll need to join & be signed on to view them but its well worth the time as you can see below.

http://forum.sub-driver.com/showthread. ... on-surcouf

If you're into subs, you'll find many more subjects & tons of photos besides Surcouf.

[sirpaul]

I'm finishing the Surcouf from HobbyBoss in the next week or so and will post some pics here. I did mod it so the turret would spin and i waterlined it. The turret was no easy task as the piece of the hull actually spins with it.

[Mike W]

I have the Hobby Boss 1/350 kit of Surcouf and would like to know the correct colours.

Which Dark and Light Grey is best and was the wooden deck painted Grey or left natural?

thanks
Mike

[alexmd]

Hi all

I know that this topic is old but I need the plans of the Surcouf. I've found them but in not so good resolution. I've tried some of the links above, they're not working, though.

Alex