How did they resupply torpedoes from milk cows in real life?

[Grisen Din]

Historically speaking, how did they manage to pull the torpedo out of the boat and put it onto the other submarine while both submarines were at sea?

[Dewgle]

Using a gin pole[i0.wp.com] as seen here[www.wearethemighty.com], the crew of the milchkuh (milk cow) would pull a torpedo up and out of the torpedo room through the torpedo hatch, wrap it in life jackets[ogigia.altervista.org] and float it over to the waiting u-boat where the process would run in reverse. The torpedo would be lifted up out of the water, the life jackets removed and using the gin pole it would be lowered down into the torpedo room.

This was a painstaking process that could only be accomplished in calm seas and good weather. Perfect weather for aircraft, coincidentally. And it took a long time to complete from start to finish. No one liked it.

Type XIV milchkuh boats didn't even carry that many torpedoes for resupply, their primary function was that of a refueling tanker. Their purpose was to give your u-boat enough fuel, machine oil, spare parts and food to keep you at sea long enough so that you could get rid of your remaining torpedoes, not to give you more. Because BDU didn't want you coming back home until all your torpedoes were expended.

[Dewgle]

Found an interesting read you may appreciate and the headline even refers to them as submersible tankers.

http://rmhh.co.uk/files/Slaughter%20of%20the%20Milk%20Cows.pdf

[Grisen Din]

They used that pole to fish the floating torpedo up from the water or did the crew drag it up? wasn't it pretty heavy?

[Dewgle]

They used the pole. As shown in the first illustration I linked, the base of a gin pole is shoved into a slot and it can pivot in any direction from that slot so long as the rigging holds.

The crew of the milk cow would tip the gin pole over the side to lower the torpedo into the water and the crew of the u-boat would use their gin pole to lift it up out of the water. Each torpedo weighed about 1500kg, just a little less than a 4-door Dodge Charger.

On the subject of torpedo weight. If you want to be realistic in your play-through. Do not reload your torpedoes while surfaced in bad weather or while being hunted by destroyers. In real life the crew would only reload torpedoes while submerged (out of combat) or while surfaced in calm seas.

A 1.5 metric ton torpedo can easily become a battering ram to crush crewmen left and right in rough seas or if rocked by a depth charge since there's only the two chains holding it up by the overhead crane during a loading process.

[Grisen Din]

That's pretty fascinating!

[wolf310ii]

Originally posted by EASY McDewgle:

...

Two little corrections, the Typ XIV didnt had a torpedo room, the torpedos were stored extern.
And they didnt use the gin pole to lower/lift into/from the water, they just let the bow dive until the torpedo floats off.

Also, after setting up the hoses for the fuel transfer, they could dive for the transfer.
The Typ XIV also had "spare crew" and a doctor

[Grisen Din]

Originally posted by wolf310ii:

Originally posted by EASY McDewgle:

...

Two little corrections, the Typ XIV didnt had a torpedo room, the torpedos were stored extern.
And they didnt use the gin pole to lower/lift into/from the water, they just let the bow dive until the torpedo floats off.

Also, after setting up the hoses for the fuel transfer, they could dive for the transfer.
The Typ XIV also had "spare crew" and a doctor

And a tiny jail according to the pdf article he linked.

Most appreciated was
the inclusion of a full-blown bakery to produce fresh bread every day: the presence of a medical
doctor and facilities to treat injured sailors. An unusual feature was a tiny two-man “brig” to
transport U-boat crewmen accused of serious crimes back to Germany for punishment.

[Nimrod]

Originally posted by wolf310ii:

Originally posted by EASY McDewgle:

...

Two little corrections, the Typ XIV didnt had a torpedo room, the torpedos were stored extern.
And they didnt use the gin pole to lower/lift into/from the water, they just let the bow dive until the torpedo floats off.

Also, after setting up the hoses for the fuel transfer, they could dive for the transfer.
The Typ XIV also had "spare crew" and a doctor

there's literally pictures showing the men from the u-tanker pulling the torpedoes wrapped in lifesaving belts with the gin pole.
Also, imagine leaving control over something worth 30k+ reichsmarks to the ocean. yeah sure.
ALSO, the submerged fuel transfer never happened, the only (and last) u-tanker that had it, got sunk before even testing the new feature.

[wolf310ii]

Originally posted by Nimrod:

there's literally pictures showing the men from the u-tanker pulling the torpedoes wrapped in lifesaving belts with the gin pole.
Also, imagine leaving control over something worth 30k+ reichsmarks to the ocean. yeah sure.

Why should the U-tanker even pull a torpedo out of the water? They gave the torpedos to other boats, not taking them.
Also do you know why they wrapped the torpedos in lifevests? Because they were floatet to the other boat, in the ocean. So with or without ginpole, the torpedo goes in the water, only thats much easier to just lower/lift the bow under the torpedo, than using the ginpole and risk the torpedo bounces against the hull while doing so.

ALSO, the submerged fuel transfer never happened, the only (and last) u-tanker that had it, got sunk before even testing the new feature.

Wolfgang Hirschfeld discribes how they did it on U-109, for the exact date i would need to look it up, but he left the boat in 1942, long befor the last Typ XIV got sunk and it wasnt even a Typ XIV they got refueled from, it was just a homegoing Typ IX

[DECAFBAD]

Where's that video where they are transferring a torpedo and you can see the Type VII has her deck submerged under the water?