Full size Printed Plans Midget German Submarine Scale 1/12 L 35" suitable for radio control

Listing for full size Printed Plans

Not a KIT or MODEL

Molch

FULL SIZE printed Plan on a sheet 48" x 22" 20lb bond

No pages of instructions some building notes and illustrations on plans

Scale 1/12

length 35"

beam 4"

Power Electric

Two battery powered Torpedoes

Radio Control

   Designed by Dr. Heinrich Drager, the Molch was a one man midget submarine driven exclusively by electric motors. Shaped like a long cigar, it carried two underslung G7e torpedoes and had a limited range of 50nm at 2.9 knots. For vision, it was equipped with a plexiglass cupola and had a periscope which could be rotated 30 degrees on either side. The controls were simple and rudimentary and most were equipped with a compass and a simple hydrophone for detecting distant sounds.

    As the Molch did not have an engine for surface running, this meant that it suffered from very limited endurance. To compensate for this, a large proportion of the hull was allocated for battery storage. This resulted in a positive buoyancy which made the submarine almost impossible to dive. As a result, the submarine was robbed of a vital asset – concealment.

   First delivered in June 1944, the Molch saw action at Anzio, Norway, the Mediterranean, and Denmark and was mostly used for coastal defense. Although there were some successes, the losses incurred were greatly out of proportion to the sinkings they afflicted. The Molch was used mostly in reserve to the Biber, as that was considered to be a more advanced submarine. A total of 393 were built, mainly by AG Wesser in Bremen.   

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