Italeri IT5609 U-Boot Biber-class Midget Submarine, model kit

DECALS FOR 3 VERSIONS - COLOR INSTRUCTIONS SHEET - PHOTO ETCHED FRET CONTAINS 2 FIGURES The "Biber" was the most well-known "pocket" submarine used by the Kriegsmarine during the latter part of World War II. The development of the Biber was extremely rapid. Design began in February 1944, and the first units were launched just 6 months later. Measuring just 9 meters long, it had a range of 240 km. It could reach a maximum speed of 6.5 knots surfaced and 5.3 knots submerged. The Biber could be armed with two 530 mm torpedoes, mounted externally to the submarine, or with two mines. Its crew consisted of only one person. The purpose of the Biber within the strategy of the Kriegsmarine was quite simple: to provide a concrete defense along the coasts to protect against a possible, and increasingly likely, Allied invasion. From 1944 until the end of World War II, the Kriegsmarine received and deployed over 300 Bibers.