"S" class torpedo boat

A plastic model of the German "S" class torpedo boat was made from the Airfix kit in 1:72 scale. The work was presented at the 11th International Festival of Plastic Reduction Models Bytom 2014.

Torpedo boats were small ships designed to operate in coastal waters and to make rapid group torpedo attacks on larger enemy units. An additional task of the torpedo boats was to hunt submarines with the help of deep-sea mines.

After the invention of anti-ship guided missiles, the torpedo boats were replaced by the missile boats. The torpedo boats began to be withdrawn from service in the 1970s.

German torpedo boats were called Schnellboot. The model shown in the pictures is probably one of the types from "S 2" to "S 5".

Some technical data (Schnellboot "S 2" - "S 5"):

• Length: 27.9 m (91.54 ft),
• Draft: 1.1 m (3.61 ft),
• Displacement: 47.3 - 58.9 t (UK: 46.55-57.97 tons),
• Powerplant: 3 Daimler-Benz 12-cylinder petrol engines,
• Speed: 32 kn (59 km/h, 36.7 mph).

Armament:

• 4 torpedoes (two in two torpedo tubes and two spare),
• 20 mm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun,
• machine gun,
• depth charges.

Sources:

• http://s-boot.net/sboats-km-dat-s2.html
• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuter_torpedowy

23 Mar 2014