German submarine U-212
History | |
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Name | U-212 |
Ordered | 16 October 1939[1] |
Builder | |
Yard number | 641[1] |
Laid down | 17 May 1941[1] |
Launched | 11 March 1942[1] |
Commissioned | 25 April 1942[1] |
Fate | Sunk by British warships on 21 July 1944[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIC submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | |
Test depth |
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Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
Armament |
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Service record[1][2] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 44 245 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
1 merchant ship sunk (80 GRT) |
German submarine U-212 was a
She began her service career in training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 11th flotilla on 1 October 1942, the 13th flotilla on 1 June 1943 and the 3rd flotilla on 1 November.
She was a member of thirteen wolfpacks. She carried out twelve patrols, but sank only one ship.
She was sunk by British warships on 21 July 1944.
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).
Service history
First to sixth patrols
Her first six patrols were of little interest; being confined to the waters of the north: around
Seventh patrol
It was during this sortie that the boat could claim her only victim; the Soviet Majakovski, sunk by a mine on 5 August 1943, laid by U-212 on 31 July.
Eighth patrol
The submarine departed Bergen and Norwegian waters, on 11 October 1943. Passing through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, she headed for Newfoundland, docking at La Pallice / La Rochelle in occupied France, on 2 December.
Ninth patrol
Patrol number nine was U-212's longest, at 63 days.
She was strafed by an unidentified Leigh Light – equipped aircraft on 14 January 1944. The 37mm AA gun malfunctioned after just one round was fired and the barrel of a 20mm weapon burst. No damage was inflicted by the air attack on the outbound U-boat.
On 25 February 1944, she met
She was also unsuccessfully attacked by an unidentified
Tenth patrol
If her ninth foray was her longest, her tenth and thirteenth outings were the shortest – three days each. They both started and finished in La Pallice.
This mission was also cut short; while sailing to interfere with the
Eleventh patrol
The boat did not get out of the Bay of Biscay, moving to Brest at the end of her fourteenth effort.
Twelfth patrol and loss
She left France for the last time on 5 July 1944. She was sunk south of Brighton in the English Channel on 21 July by depth charges dropped from the British frigates HMS Curzon and Ekins.
Forty-nine men died; there were no survivors.
Wolfpacks
U-212 took part in thirteen wolfpacks, namely:
- Boreas (22 November – 9 December 1942)
- Eisbär (27 March – 5 April 1943)
- Siegfried (25– 27 October 1943)
- Siegfried 1 (27– 30 October 1943)
- Körner (30 October – 2 November 1943)
- Tirpitz 1 (2 – 8 November 1943)
- Eisenhart 4 (9 – 15 November 1943)
- Schill 3 (18 – 22 November 1943)
- Rügen (15 – 26 January 1944)
- Hinein (26 January – 3 February 1944)
- Igel 1 (3 – 17 February 1944)
- Hai 1 (17 – 22 February 1944)
- Preussen (22 February – 4 March 1944)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage ( GRT )
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Fate[4] |
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5 August 1943 | Majakovski | ![]() |
80 | Sunk |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC Uboat U-212". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-212". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-212". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Bishop, Chris (2006). Kriegsmarine U-Boats, 1939-45. London: Amber Books. ISBN 978-1-904687-96-2.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-212". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 212". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.