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| Career (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-1276 |
| Ordered: | 13 June 1942 |
| Builder: | Bremer Vulkan of Bremen-Vegesack |
| Laid down: | 13 July 1943 |
| Launched: | 25 February 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 6 April 1944 |
| Fate: | See Fate |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIC/41 submarine |
| Displacement: | 769 long tons (781 t) surfaced 871 long tons (885 t) submerged |
| Length: | 67.23 m (220 ft 7 in) o/a 50.9 m (167 ft 0 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.85 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 5 m (16 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Draft: | 5 m (16 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft, 6-cylinder, 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesels totalling 2,800–3,200 hp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296 |
| Speed: | 17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44-52 officers & ratings |
| Armament: | • 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) • 14 × torpedoes • 1 × C35 88mm gun/L45 deck gun (220 rounds) |
German submarine U-1276 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of the Kriegsmarine. Bremer Vulkan of Bremen-Vegesack laid down her keel on July 13, 1943. She was commissioned April 6, 1944 with Oberleutnant Karl Heinz Wendt in command. U-1276 was equipped with a submarine snorkel (underwater-breathing apparatus) when she sailed on her last cruise.
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At 11:45 hours on 20 February 1945, U-1276 sank HMS Vervain, (LtCdr R.A. Howell, RNVR), a Flower-class corvette escorting convoy HX-337. Vervain sank after 20 minutes about 25 nautical miles (46 km) south-east of Dungarvan, Ireland. The commander, three officers and 56 ratings were lost. Three officers and 31 ratings were rescued. HMS Amethyst (LtCdr N. Scott-Elliot, DSC, RN), which was part of the same convoy, then sank U-1276 by depth charges, off Waterford, Ireland at position . All hands (49) were lost.
In 2006, a group of divers from Ardmore Diving discovered the wreck site of the U-1276 some 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of Youghal. The submarine is lying in 75 metres (41 fathoms) of water and largely intact, albeit visibly damaged by the depth charges that sank her.