AFV Club SE73511 1:350 USS Gato Class Submarine 1943

NEW TOOLING UPPER HULL AND SUPERSTRUCTURE OF YEAR 1943
NEW TOOLING CONNING TOWER OF YEAR 1943
PRECISELY REPLICATES DETAILS OF THE VESSEL.
CHOOSE TO CONSTRUCT IN WATERLINE OR FULL HULL DISPLAY MODEL.
PRESSURE HULL IS INCLUDED.
DIVING PLANES CAN BE BUILT IN EXTENDED OR RETRACTED POSITION.
PRECISION PHOTO-ETCHED PARTS ARE INCLUDED.

Gato is the name of a class of American diesel-electric submarines (SS) of the Second World War. The first unit of this type was launched in 1940. In total, 77 units of this type were created. The Gato-class boat was 95 m long, 8.3 m wide, and had a displacement of about 2,400 tons. The maximum underwater speed is approx. 9 knots. The boats of this type had ten 533 mm torpedo tubes - including six bow and four stern. The ship's armament also included single 76 mm, 40 mm and 20 mm cannons.

The Gato-class boats were developed and put into production as a far-reaching extension of the Tambor-class boat. Compared to their predecessors, they had a much longer range and significantly improved combat capabilities. They also had new, highly reliable and proven diesel engines, which increased the possible patrol time of a single ship. Units of this type also offered - as for the submarines of that time - a good working comfort for the crew. They also had good radio and electronic equipment for those times. The Gato-class boats played a gigantic role in World War II, inflicting huge losses on the Japanese merchant navy in 1942-1945. It is worth adding that it was a boat of this class (USS Archerfish) that sank the Japanese carrier Shinano in November 1944. Some boats of this type, after modernization, remained in service with the US Navy until the end of the 1960s.