u-99 info

I don't believe that U-99 had her cable cutter at the time of her loss, but she certainly had it as built, and probably well into her career.

Colors are suspect, she could have worn either a light gray or darker gray upper, with a dark gray lower hull and no boot striping. See the thread below about U-boat colors, there's a very helpful link here. Decks would have started out as black, but would have quickly weathered and worn into a dark charcoal gray. Metal fittings however, would probably have remained a much darker color than the wood.

http://uboatcolours.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/

Jeff

Jeff thanks for the information, and that link is great!

Hello,

I have a photo taken on the 20th February 1941 showing both U 47 and U 99. Both the boats have net cutters in the photo. U 99 left two days later for her last patrol, so it is a virtual certainty that the net cutter remained at the time of her loss in March 1941. If the upper net cutter was there, I presume the lower net cutter would have been there too.

Remember that U 99 had air trunks on either side of her conning tower at the time of her loss.

As for upper colours, U 99 is much lighter than U 47 in the photo. U 47 was a medium to dark grey (Schlickgrau 58 possibly) at that time. The upper colour of U 99 looks very like the light grey Hellgrau 50, as it does in all the photos I've seen of U 99.

Cheers,

Dougie

Is this the same Dougie who did the website I linked above??

If it is, the you certainly deserve a hearty Bravo Zulu for your efforts. Well written, outlined, and concise.

I have some unpublished photos I'm willing to share with you in exchange for some color intel for my next build...interested? You have a nice color photo of a boat wearing what appears to be a two tone gray upper camo scheme (tied up alongside another)...I wouldn't mind modeling that particular boat.

Best Regards,

Jeff

Thanks for your comments, Jeff, I appreciate them. Yes, it was myself who wrote that piece. I'd be happy to help with colours if I can. Just email me direct..

The particular boat you mention is U 253. There are another 2 colour photos taken at the same time that I can send if you wish. The boat to the right is U 335, in Dunkelgrau 51.

Your name rings a bell. Did you do the VII/41 from the Amati kit?

Cheers,

Dougie

That would be me...be gentle, it was a long time ago and I wasn't as well versed in the Type VII as I am now... :-) Interestingly though, I laid my RoG Type VII hull alongside the converted VIIB, and it's dead on with length, so I got that part right at least!

Jeff

PS: I can't seem to locate your email address...perhaps you can drop me a line from here?

thanks to both of you for your time i am very glad to have this information.

micah.

Hi Dougie and Jeff,

I'm also modeling U-253. Love the cammo.

Dougie I think you mentioned that the dark color on this particular boat is Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau. I'm assuming that the lighter color, which looks almost white, is the Hellgrau 50 (alternative or Baltic)?
Since Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau is an antifouling paint, I would also assume that it extended down below the waterline from the upper hull and conning tower? One more question. The vertical surfaces look like they may have been painted black. Is this correct?

Thanks for you help.
Jess

Hello Jess,

Yes, I would say the light grey on U 253 was Hellgrau 50. Since the KM used paints, which varied to quite a degree in colour, there isn't just one FS code for Hellgrau 50. The light grey looks particularly light in the colour photos, so it might be prudent to use the lighter end of the spectrum: Colourcoats' Baltic light grey (an alternative Hellgrau 50) KM13 (RAL7038, FS35492). Or simply a light grey in this area.

There is a much better version of the colour photo of U 253 which adorns the cover of Warship Pictorial 27. This can be found in the Anstriche book, and I can scan and email it you if you like. The light grey looks light grey rather than off-white. Of interest in this photo is that the wooden seats on the deck railings are wooden in colour. Also, the entire fairing in front of the conning tower looks like Dunkelgrau 51. So does the 88mm.

And yes, I would agree that the dark grey on the upper hull is RAL7016, just like the lower hull. The Revell instructions appear accurate in this respect..

Best regards,

Dougie

PS. Jeff, my email address is dougie@martindale47.freeserve.co.uk

Dougie, I will email you with scans of the photos I have in a couple of days...I'm packing at the moment and have no clue where anything is.

I haven't decided on a particular boat yet, but it will probably be a boat with the cable cutter, as it looks more menacing. Something with an interesting paint scheme would be nice as well...something that generates some visual appeal.

Regards,

Jeff