German submarine ''U-1200'' was a

Type VIIC Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'' which saw service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Design

German Type VIIC submarines German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-1200'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''superstructure'' and the ''pressure hull''. The external portion of a submarine’s hull—that part that does not resist sea pressure and is free-flooding—is known as the “superstructure” i ...

length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two

Germaniawerft Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft (often just called Germaniawerft, "Germania (personification), Germania shipyard") was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for ...

F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically powered (usually by ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two

AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...

GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-1200'' was fitted with five

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es, one SK C/35 naval gun, (220 rounds), one Flak M42 and two twin C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

''U-1200'' keel was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

17 April 1943, by F. Schichau, of Danzig. She was commissioned 5 January 1944 under the command of ''

Oberleutnant zur See (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, OF-1 in NATO. The rank was ...

'' Hinrich Mangels. She was assigned to

8th U-boat Flotilla The 8th U-boat Flotilla (German ''8. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed in June 1941 in Königsberg under the command of ''Kapitänleutnant'' Georg-Wilhelm Schulz, who also at this time commanded the 6th U-boat Flotilla in Danzig. It was prim ...

for training, before joining

11th U-boat Flotilla The 11th U-boat Flotilla (German ''11. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed on 15 May 1942 in Bergen, Norway. The flotilla operated mainly in the North Sea and against the Russian convoys (JW, PQ, QP and RA series) in the Arctic Sea. The flotill ...

in Norway for operational service. Her first war patrol, on 7 October 1944, was cut short with mechanical difficulties; she returned to

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

on 17 October. Two days later on 19 October she set out again for her patrol area in the

South-Western Approaches The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the north by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portion ...

, south of Ireland.

Fate

''U-1200'' was sunk on or about 12 November 1944 in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

south-east of Start Point by unknown cause. All hands lost.

Previously recorded fate

On the night of 10 November 1944, south of Cape Clear, Ireland, she encountered units of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's 30 Escort Group. These were four s, , , and , led by Cdr.

Denys Rayner Denys Arthur Rayner DSC & Bar, VRD, RNVR (9 February 1908 – 4 January 1967) was a Royal Navy officer who fought throughout the Battle of the Atlantic. After intensive war service at sea, Rayner became a writer, a farmer, and a successful des ...

. Mistaking the group, which was engaged in a slow sweep of its patrol area, for a small convoy, ''U-1200'' attempted to stalk the group, steering on a converging course. In a swift and well-executed attack, the ships of 30 EG rounded on the U-boat and destroyed her in one depth-charge attack. There were no survivors.Rayner p224-229

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * Denys Rayner: ''Escort:The Battle of the Atlantic'' (1955; reprint 1999)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U1200 World War II submarines of Germany U-boats sunk in 1944 U-boats sunk by depth charges U-boats sunk by British warships 1943 ships German Type VIIC submarines Ships built by Schichau Ships built in Danzig Submarines lost with all hands World War II shipwrecks in the Celtic Sea Maritime incidents in November 1944