Customer Reviews

U-995 German Type VII U-Boat - Illustrated Gallery of the Last Surviving Type VIIC U-Boat in the World

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a WWII history buff with many videos and books in my library collection on the subject of the U-boat war. I was looking foreward to getting this added bit of history of U-995 type VII U-Boat in this DVD format and I was very disappointed and found it to be of an amateurish quality. For example, many of the photos were out of focus and poor lit, some with other visitors standing in the shot! I seen better photos available of U-995 for free on many gallery sites. Obviously this person was not granted any special access permission that any visitor would have, as there were no photos taken up on the bridge, in the conning tower or on the decks. The added videos were of poor quaility dubbed from U-Boat DVDs available that probabaly anyone interested in this subject would already have as well as the the schematics (drawing). Save your money, and perhapes a more professional production that is produced and sanctioned by the U-995 memorial foundation will be available in the future. I can respect this attempt by the folks at "Uboataces" to cover this historical marine craft for those of us who would like to board her but will never be able to do so.

The interior pictures are good, but it's very disappointing that the photographers didn't take better pictures of the radar and sonar stations, not to mention the complete lack of pictures of the bridge and the conning tower. It's not a complete tour of the boat if you don't show all the compartments, and as others have said, it's very amateurish to show people walking around in the background of the photos. Plan drawings are nothing special and certainly not ones that one would use to build a model.

Overall, this was an alright effort, but it could have been better if the compilers had put some more thought and effort into it.

After visiting the U-505 in Chicago, I figured the next step is to visit the U-995. Only problem is, the museum is in Germany.

So when I chanced upon this DVD, I was excited but cautiously optimistic due to some negative review of some amateurish stuff. But at this price, I figured you can't really go wrong. So....

My first impression is the product is actually quite well done. It runs on Internet Explorer, so you get a browser based navigation.

The mainpage introduces you the content on the DVD and a brief history of the U-995. Inside, there are 3 main sections - Internal Photos, External Photos and an Others Section.

The main meat of the matter are the photos, I mean there are LOTS of them. And they are segregated by compartments within the u-boat. So you can jump to the Control Room photos, or Officer's Cabin, Galley, Torpedo Room, etc.

Within each compartment, the photos are explained in good detail, so I could understand the main functions of all the gobbly gook equipment without getting into too much technical detail. This is really useful because I learnt so much about the sub in such a short time.

The internal photos are excellent. Thorough and clear. Its definitely not dark and, it looks just the way it would as if you were there. They detail every corner imaginable, from the top of the ceiling to the ground where your feet is, and even underneath the electric motors.

These are the best and most detailed internal photos I've ever seen of the boat. You simply can't find this quality or quantity anywhere else.

My only complaint is there's quite a lot of reading to do, and it would have been great if there was some kind of voice narration like a movie video.

The videos complement the photos and gives you a first person perspective of the internals. They are crisp and clear, and they provide a very good view of the inside and the videos are actually very, very good. Amateur or not, they are great videos but would be better if it was just a tad slower so you can look around longer as there's lots of stuffs inside.

Certain parts of the boat are not covered, and they are the battery room, conning tower and bridge. No photos are provided inside the battery room, or conning tower which is quite a pity as I've never been able to see the inside of a battery room. Still, there are very good photos of the bridge, and top deck, AA guns, periscope, antennas, etc. Unless you're a researcher needing to view up close shots of the bridge, otherwise these external photos provide more than sufficient detail.

The schematic plans show a general view of the inside cutaway and outside - both top and side views. There are diagrammatic drawings of the complete Bridge Designs of I, II, III, IV and so on. These are a useful reference for a modeler like me, but probably insufficient detail if you were looking for detailed schematics of equipment such as propeller, rudders, deck guns, periscope, etc.

And finally in the Extras Section. You get several bonuses of some war footage, war diary and sound files. The footage ain't that great, but these are rare footage indeed, so you could see actual living conditions aboard a u-boat, war patrol, torpedo engagements and so on.

Also in the Others Section is a collection of sound files. For the first time, I could listen to actual ambient sounds recorded inside the u-boat. There are recordings of the diesel engines, the electric motors and so on. Truly impressive!!!

Overall I'm very pleased with the DVD because it provided a very positive experience of the U-995 museum in Germany. Someone mentioned about people in the background, but really there are only a handful of these photos and it never bothered me.

Though there are some glitches, but they are minor in contrast to the value it provides. Through this DVD, I could explore the u-boat and maybe someday I'll make a trip to personally visit the museum. But until then, this is the closest in closing the gap between the virtual and physical.

Overall, it was a solid experience and I would be crazy not to recommend it.

Not a bad DVD but like all other materiel concerning type VII C U-boats, there is NO PICTURES OF THE INSIDE THE CON TOWER!!! That is , in my opinion, such a sad , disappointing mistake to omit this very important part of the sub , where most attacks were conducted from. Also, the DVD has no narrative, it would have been nice to have a "voice over" explaining what does what, etc etc. Finally, there is no telling if the inside colors are a good representation of the original. If like me, you are building a VII C type and are making the interiors from scratch, you will be disappointed. Otherwise, it still is great to see up close the only type 7, the 505 i chicago being a whole different sub(some similarities but not enough to construct something authentic from) Hopefully, the makers will eventually get permission to enter from the top side, everything is there(minus a few things) and very instructive according to omeone who snuck in.

Yes, I agree it is quite amateurish. And it is a shame the authors did not obtain permission to take pictures of the conning tower and bridge. But with the virtual tour one can learn a lot of a submarine in a mere 30 minutes. I have been occasionally reading books about submarines for almost 25 years, I'm a naval architect (but not specialized in submarines) and I must admit I have been surprised to learn things from this virtual tour.
A suggestion to the authors for an upgraded version of this DVD would be adding a switch on/off layer labelling the different wheels/controls/instruments in the most representative photos, and a link with drawings/schemes of the different systems.

This new DVD-ROM from Uboataces is a wonderful archive of the last Type VIIC U-Boat in the world, fantastically detailed and well set out, and easy to navigate. There is not a corner of the boat that is not carefully recorded. You get a really convincing picture of the conditions of life aboard a Type VIIC U-Boat. I guess the main audience will be U-Boat enthusiasts, but it is also tremendously interesting to someone like me who is interested in the history of World War II, but as yet does not know much about U-Boats and would like to learn. A big thank you to everyone at Uboataces for creating this fabulous DVD-ROM

This is a great DVD and a great resource! Many high quality photos. The videos are of an excellent quality, too - clear and very thorough - just like you were on board. The "Illustrated Gallery" is well laid out. I recommend this resource to anyone interested in uboats and submarines.