KANSAS CITY - The World War I Museum in Kansas City is displaying an exact model of a German U-boat that sank eight Allied ships before it was sunk by a British ship's depth charges.
The 53-inch metal model was made in 1916 by the very manufacturer that built the real thing in the same German shipyard. Museum director Eli Paul said he "can't imagine it could be more accurate."
Submarines were a vital - and deadly - innovation in warfare that arose with World War I, but the Liberty Memorial was lacking in that area. The museum had cleared a space for a U-boat model.
After an unsuccessful search for a craftsman to build one, the museum and the Naval Sea Systems Command agreed to a loan-term loan of the 92-year-old model in its collection from fleets worldwide.