Neger human torpedo

[invisible officer]

I now that Warlord has a Forum policy that no other companies stuff should be shown. I’m not sure about scratch built stuff.. But I guess that a model that is a conversion from Warlord stuff is OK ?

Yesterday evening I had just a bit of time and suddenly I had another crazy idea: Convert one of the torpedo marker into a Neger manned Torpedo.

A simple job. I wanted the same basing style I use on other vessels but one can use the cast on one as well. I added the bigger rudder aft and two studs for the hooks used to lift the torpedo. A circular punched out piece of plastic with torpedo diameter is the crewman’s compartment. The plexiglass cupola was made from Bondic. A spar at front for the aiming device – some paint – ready.

(If you don’t know Bondic, it’s a glue that sets glass clear, for setting a mini UV light lamp is used. It sets in seconds. )

—————
Neger was designed from an electric G7e torpedo converted into a vessel for one man. It carried another G7e below. It could not dive, the cupola stayed on surface.
The vessel went with a speed of 4 – 6 knots and had a range of 30 – 45 nautical miles depending on speed.

Navigation was done with a simple wrist compass and air was provided by a Dräger Tauchretter, an oxygen container normally used by submarine crews in emergency.
Aiming was done by a graduated scale at the dome and a spike at front. Aim, pull a lever and hope that the torpedo will hit. Then turn and try to survive.

Neger was not designed as suicide weapon but odds are against the crewman. In some cases the torpedo failed to release and carried the craft to the enemy. Suffocation was main killer.. Around 80% of the men died!

Some 200 Neger vessels reached the front. Being used from March 1944 on. First mission was 20/21st April against the Anzio landing. 30 Neger went into action. 13 capsized and just 17 operated against the fleet. Three failed to return and none hit a target.One fell into Allied hands.
In Normandie 40 Neger operated from the Seine. 5/6th Juy 24 attacked the Allied landing fleet. They sank the minesweepers HMS Magic and Cato. But just 9 Neger returned.
Next night 21 Neger went into action. But in bright moonlight the cupolas shined. Many got sighted and hunted down by MGB, MTB, other vessels and planes. The Neger managed to sink the minesweeper HMS Pylades and damage the Polish cruiser Dragon that had to be scuttled.

Another possible victim to Neger was the destroyer HMS Qourn that was sunk in combined action (!!) of Schnellboote and human torpedoes.
The trawler HMS Colsay was sunk on 2nd November 44 near Ostend.

The Name Neger was a joke, the idea for the vessel came from Marinebaurat Richard Mohr.

Neger was a bad design. The dome was easy to spot. Only the last version was able to dive for a very short distance to go out of sight. The flotilla tried to use dummy domes to fool the allies away from the vessels but with little success. The original design even lacked the option to open the dome from inside for escape.
In Nazi propaganda logic the use in Normandie paid. The number of lost men and torpedoes used was much below the number of kia Allied seamen and material destroyed. But Kriegsmarine thought better and did not use it post winter 44/45.

Game use is simple. The Neger version most used could not dive and should be used like a surface vessel. It has no guns and the torpedo can be used like an S-Boot one. Any hit would destroy the Neger. 6 knts, normal turning.

Poor Richard. You create a great game and soon lunatic fools start to ….

😉

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[Richard]

Blimey – nice work again!

[Richard]

Perhaps treat them like the Japanese ‘swarm’ boats and deploy them in 3s? Make them tiny and hard to spot.

[Charge The Guns]

Interesting history IO.

Certainly sounds a weapon of desperation. Nice models too!

[John Stallard]

Nice one invisible!! I have a soft spot for the desperation weapons, they were very brave men indeed..

Is it correct that the hatch was secured from the outside, and had to b opened that way too?? I believe its so, but it sounds too crazy, so random or the sensible, largely, Germans…I have been told later models had a hatch openable from inside…

Weirdly I have read many accounts of , well a good few, of the neger pilots surviving being rammed, shot up and being taken prisoner by corvettes and mtbs, implying that the pilot Could get out, or is it only when the plexi – glass had been smashed by trauma force??

any thoughts?

js

[invisible officer]

Hi John,
yes, as I stated in the text the first series had domes closed from outside without escape option.
It was not intended as suicide weapon. It was just a Problem to get that thing watertight.
It was so cramped that a lifevest could be worn only by very thin men. So the chance was bad anyway.

Only the last production run had the Option to get the dome out of the way. These last vessels could “dive” 50cm to get out of sight for a short time.

Allies often confused Neger with the successor Marder. It was a bit longer to take a diving cell. Marder could dive 10 meter. But for aiming both had to surface.

Late Neger and Marder had the Hase optical aiming device on front of dome.

[John Stallard]

sorry missed that bit of your text..

[Author]

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