Yes, to be sure, the XV was small. It was one of the boats that Austria took over from Germany for coastal defense. 128 metric tons above water and 156 below. 28 meters long and 5 meters wide inside, in places only 1 1/2 meters. Two torpedo tubes that were already armed. The top speed was 5 miles on the surface and 4 miles under water. On deck, a 37 mm rapid-fire cannon and machine gun. Even though the crew was usually 20 men and 3 officers at the station, at sea there were only 3 officers with 13 men. That was all there was room for. Only 600 liters of water was taken along. That was for drinking and cooking. With the exception of the Commander, there was no washing, and even that you could not call washing. The bulk was tested for pressure up to 50 meters depth. A holding tank of 5000 lkg assisted surfacing if the boat should leak in the diving tanks. Besides that, there was a rescue bouy with telephone and light with 100 meters of cable attached to the boat which could be unbolted. If the boat could not surface despite the release of the holding tank, it could at least communicate with the upper world.
Every man had a life jacket that could be inflated and also served well as a pillow. The boat only had minimal speed but that disadvantage was partially balanced out by its ability to dive fast. The relatively limited range of operation could be somewhat increased by filling the trim tanks with fuel for the diesel engine. But that, in turn, decreased the diving capacity by making the boat lighter. Much to the detriment of the boat is the process of charging the batteries for the underwater running. There was only one motor available so the boat had to sit on the surface without any power for movement was at the mercy of the current. This is why the charging was done at night whenever possible.
For the improvement of the air, there was a ventilation system built in that included filter cartridges and oxygen supplement tanks that we carried with us. The inside of the boat was very cramped and the many wheels and levers made a confusing impression. It also meant that you had to be damned careful not to make the wrong move lest you could send the boat, with man and mouse, to the depths. That was enough reason to command a great respect for all the gadgets and we gladly submitted to the training with great pride.
During the following days we had torpedo maneuvers. This was for us quite an experience. How could we possibly move around in this 5 meter long and 45 centimeter thick heavy steel cigar? In this tight space where you could hardly turn around? But everything worked somehow since it was all measured out to the millimeter. The fact that we ended up with a few bumps did not matter and was taken as inevitable.
"What do you say? This is different than on the Budapest. There you could move around as you pleased but here you have to creep around like in a chimney." says Torpedo Instructor Lehar to us.
"Yeah, that's nice," we answer, " But in spite of that, it is here much more interesting for us. And here we know what we are doing it for. There it was only to keep busy smearing grease and polishing the aiming apparatus for nothing."
"Aye," he says, " We no not do nothing unnecessary here. But everything has to work efficiently, otherwise we might be out for some action and instead of accomplishing something, we have to be lucky that they do not rip off our behind!"
No comments:
Post a Comment