U-124, a Type IXB, showing the steering position inside the conning tower with voice pipe by the man's mouth. He has his hand on the button for moving the rudder to the right - there was an identical button for going in the other direction. Since it was difficult to maintain position during rough weather, operators were provided with handles to grip and thus support their bodies. One of these is visible above the man's right hand. Rudder and hydroplanes were usually electrically controlled by pressing buttons, but wheels were provided in case of a power failure. Turning these was hard work and sometimes demanded that men stood up to use both hands. If this manual mechanism broke as well, then it was also possible to operate aft hydroplanes and rudder from the rear compartment and there were duplicate forward hydroplane controls in the bow torpedo room.
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