German submarine U-12 (1935)

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-12.

German submarine U-12 (1935)
Career (Nazi Germany)
Name:	U-12
Ordered:	20 July 1934
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number:	546
Laid down:	20 May 1935
Launched:	11 September 1935
Commissioned:	30 September 1935
Fate:	Sunk 8 October 1939 in the English Channel near Dover. 27 dead
General characteristics
Type:	IIB
Displacement:	Surfaced 279 Tons Submerged 329 Tons
Length:	42.7m (140.2Ft)
Beam:	4.1m (13.5Ft)
Speed:	Surfaced:13 Knots Submerged:7 Knots
Endurance:	Surfaced 1,800 Miles at 12 Knots Submerged 43 Miles at 4 Knots
Crew:	25
Armament:	Three fore torpedo tubes with 6 x 21 inch torpedos and 1 x 20mm AA gun on fore-deck

Service record
Part of:	Kriegsmarine: 3rd U-boat Flotilla
Identification codes:	M 17 865
Commanders:	Werner von Schmidt Hans Pauckstadt Dietrich von der Ropp
Operations:	One
Victories:	No ships sunk or damaged

German submarine U-12 was a Type IIB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine laid down on 20 May 1935 by Germaniawerft at Kiel and commissioned on 30 September.

Fate

She was sunk 8 October 1939 by a mine, near Dover in the English Channel. Her exact position is not known but it is at approximately 51°10′N 01°30′E. All 27 of her crew died. The body of the commanding officer, Kapitänleutnant Dietrich von der Ropp, was washed ashore on the French coast near Dunkirk on 29 October 1939. In 2002, the wreck was nominated by the German government to be designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. This vessel was designated as a representative of all others lost within UK jurisdiction.

References

• uboat.net webpage about U-12
• ubootwaffe.net webpage about U-12
• SI 2008/0950 Designation under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

See also

• List of German U-boats