| Career (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-1234 |
| Ordered: | 14 October 1941 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | Werk 397 |
| Laid down: | 11 May 1943 |
| Launched: | 7 January 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 19 April 1944 |
| Fate: | Scuttled, 2 May 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXC/40 U-boat |
| Displacement: | 1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.8 m (252 ft) overall 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) overall 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,300 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (740 kW) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 25,620 nmi (47,450 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 48 to 56 |
| Armament: | 6 × 55 cm (22 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × torpedoes 1 × Utof 105 mm (4.1 in)/45 deck gun with 110 rounds |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | 31st U-boat Flotilla (April 1944–January 1945) 4th U-boat Flotilla (February–May 1945) |
| Commanders: | Kptlt. Helmut Thurmann (April 1944–May 1944) Kptlt. Hans-Christian Wrede (October 1944–May 1945) |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-1234 was a German Type IXC/40 U-boat built during World War II for service in the Battle of the Atlantic. U-1234 was unusual for having sunk twice, once by accident and once as part of the great destruction of the remaining Kriegsmarine in the days before the surrender.
Contents |
Constructed as a type IX submarine at Hamburg during 1943, U-1234 was delayed in her construction and did not reach full service status until almost a year after her construction began, a very long time for a U-boat. She was given to Kptlt Helmut Thurmann to command, and he began her process of mechanical testing and operational training in the Baltic Sea. Just under a month after her commissioning, whilst cruising off Gdynia on the night of 14/15 May, she was struck on the broadside by the steam tug Anton. The boat was holed and rapidly began to sink, slipping below the waves leaving her commander and most of her crew bobbing in the sea. Thirteen crew never reached the shore or the rescue boats and went down with their ship.
In October 1944, the boat was raised by divers and lifting equipment from the sea bed, and repaired and recommissioned into the Kriegsmarine. Such severe damage had been done to her vital systems however that she was no longer suitable for full combat duty, and was seconded to a training flotilla, where she remained to the end of the war. On 2 May 1945 her crew took her into the Hörup Happ off Flensberg and scuttled her to keep her from falling into Allied hands as their ground forces approached the port.
U-1234 is also featured as a fictional submarine in the anime series Black Lagoon where it plays a vital part as the site of a treasure. In the anime, the boat was sunk by Allied warships off the coast of Jakarta during the war and remained on the ocean floor at a depth of 53 metres (174 ft) for several decades. At the time of the sinking an SS officer had brought along a painting featuring typical mythological Nazi propaganda. The painting itself would bring in a sum of $50,000 to whoever could deliver it to a collector seeking it.
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