Rudder Round 1 In 2004, I determined that the rudder on the SMS Deutschland seemed to be the same as that on the SMS Elsass, so I 'assumed' that Pommern would be the same, and this is what I made in 'Part II: Hull Finishing & Painting'. It was quite square in shape, with three shallow ribs, and a simple hinge. Click Once To Enlarge

Wrong Again In 2007 my German friend Friedrich sent me a photo of what he claimed was the rudder of Pommern which was completely different than the SMS Elsass Rudder I had built; it was much more rounded with four wide support ribs and a massive and complicated hinge. This photo was not evidence to me, as there was no way to prove the photo was Pommern. Of course, I was in denial.... Then in 2008, I bought some photos that had belonged to a ship member who was on Pommern, and much to my horror, Friedrich was correct. There was the rudder photo again and on the back was written: "Pommern Ruder". Super...... Having spent so much time on my first rudder, it was tossed into the scrap bin. Click Once To Enlarge

Rudder Round 2 Like the first rudder, I cut a piece of 1mm styrene into the unique shape of Pommern's rudder, then added the four bases for the ribs. The four hinges were cut on the Proxxon saw out of 3mm brass tube and glued on and a section of 5mm plastic tube was cut in half for the massive back of the hinges. The riveted metal leading edge that the photo shows, was added using my friend Peter Lienau's 'rivet strips'. Click Once To Enlarge

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Completing the Hull Intro / New Rudder / Fixing the Casemates / Booms / Stairs / New Sponsons / Bugzier/ Portholes / Deck Fittings / Railings / Decals / Final Product