My first Submarine:

U 995

1°) Once upon a time...

In 1995, I fall in stop in front of the window from a model store in Lorient. A model of Uboot was exposed there: U995, scale 1/40. The merchant gave me the co-ordinates of the retailer, and, with the help of a few thousands francs, I became purchaser of a hull, a bridge, a conning tower and all upperworks in order to build MY Uboot!

In the hull seals were installed: a compartment ballast made in resin, a compressed-air bottle out of brazed brass, a lead-acid battery 6V/10Ah, two engines, the servos for the control surfaces, the receiver, the speed regulator, a " FailSafe "system and 4 accumulators 1,2V/1100mAh to feed all .

Construction is not what it moreover complicated there. Hardest, it is the sealing, then balancing. Tens silicone tubes , four kilos of lead and tens return towards the lake of Bouillargues later, it will have taken me 18 months to arrive at the final result, at a rate of one or two hours per day!
This rather long time is explained by the fact why it was the first time that I made a submarine, without any documentation to arrange me...

U 995 on water.

Preparation of Uboot before its setting on water

2°) Hello, firefighters?!!!

Summer 1997, on holiday at the "Hotel du Lac", Clergoux (Corrèze), I live to disappear U-995 in full medium from the lake, 50 meters off bank. A few moments later, the nose of the boat reappeared at the same place: submarine was vertical. The " FailSafe "system installed on board made its effect: it had emptied the bottle of compressed air in the ballast, offering a last deferment to the model. Then it was inserted ineluctably in the depths of the lake... It was undoubtedly a leak...

The owner of the hotel, knowing a firefighter in Tulle , telephoned to him and explained him the problem. Once the surprise passed, two firefighters-divers offered to move five days later. Indeed, the divers must involve once per week, the topic of the exercise this week was original! With a projector, they went down up to six meters of depth, and raised the submarine quickly.

Beginning the research...

After 5 days at the bottom, one needs wet everything...

A rapid glance confirmed the leak, a piece of silicone joint had fallen apart... Thanks to the Tulle firemen, they offered one year of remission to U 995, for the greatest pleasure of the members of naval model club in Nimes, and to the Sunday strollers.

3°) The end...

One Sunday of May 1998, in meeting with the members of the naval model club in Nimes, I prepared the submarine before the setting in water. All the free ventings were closed, I decided to control the rotation of the propellers. Suddenly, a powerful explosion pulverized U 995. Pieces of hull were found ten meters around. The effect of surprised passed, I approached what there remained submarine, thinking that it was the bottle of compressed air which had exploded. It was intact. It was worse, the lead-acid battery had degassed hydrogen during the load, because, for once, I had forgotten to open the ventings free...

I recovered the pieces, and decided to write an article in newspaper " RC Marine " to warn all my colleagues submariners.


Terribly frightened by this explosion which could have wounded a curious walker, disgusted by the 18 months of work which were reduced in pieces, I promised not to make a submarine model more. I held three years, but U-47 has such a history, and it is so beautiful... Irresistible !

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