German submarine U-1221
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-1221 |
| Ordered: | 25 August 1941 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 384 |
| Laid down: | 28 October 1942 |
| Launched: | 26 May 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 11 August 1943 |
| Fate: | sunk in Kiel harbour, 3 April 1945 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: | 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Identification codes: | M 55 188 |
| Commanders: |
Oblt.z.S. Karl Kölzer Oblt.z.S. Paul Ackermann |
| Operations: | 1 patrol |
German submarine U-1221 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
U-1221 was ordered in August 1941 from Deutsche Werft, AG in Hamburg under the yard number 368. Her keel was laid down on 28 October 1942 and the U-boat was launched the following year on 25 May 1943. She was commissioned into service under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Karl Kölzer (Crew 31) in the 4th U-boat Flotilla.
On 20 January 1944, Kölzer handed over command to Oblt.z.S. Paul Ackermann (Crew XII/39), who took her on her first - and only - patrol in the West Atlantic from 14 August to 27 November 1944.
During an air raid by Eighth Air Force on Kiel, U-1221 was hit by two bombs in the fore-ship on 3 April 1945. The U-boat sank immediately, taking the skeleton crew of 18 with her. Seven of her crew perished, while the rest was rescued through the stern torpedo tubes the next day.[2]
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 105-7.
- ↑ Busch & Röll 1999, pp. 331.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German) IV (Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler). ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
Coordinates: 54°20′N 10°10′E / 54.333°N 10.167°E
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