Type | VIIC | |||||||||||||||||
| Ordered | 16 Oct 1939 | |||||||||||||||||
| Laid down | 17 May 1941 | F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 641) | ||||||||||||||||
| Launched | 11 Mar 1942 | |||||||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 25 Apr 1942 | Oblt. Helmut Vogler | ||||||||||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 15 patrols |
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| Successes | 1 ship sunk, total tonnage 80 GRT | |||||||||||||||||
| Fate | Sunk 21 July, 1944 in the English Channel south of Brighton, in position 50.27N, 00.13W, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS Curzon and HMS Ekins. 49 dead (all hands lost). | |||||||||||||||||
Wolfpack operations
U-212 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Boreas (22 Nov 1942 - 9 Dec 1942)
Eisbär (27 Mar 1943 - 5 Apr 1943)
Siegfried (25 Oct 1943 - 27 Oct 1943)
Siegfried 1 (27 Oct 1943 - 30 Oct 1943)
Körner (30 Oct 1943 - 2 Nov 1943)
Tirpitz 1 (2 Nov 1943 - 8 Nov 1943)
Eisenhart 4 (9 Nov 1943 - 15 Nov 1943)
Schill 3 (18 Nov 1943 - 22 Nov 1943)
Rügen (15 Jan 1944 - 26 Jan 1944)
Hinein (26 Jan 1944 - 3 Feb 1944)
Igel 1 (3 Feb 1944 - 17 Feb 1944)
Hai 1 (17 Feb 1944 - 22 Feb 1944)
Preussen (22 Feb 1944 - 4 Mar 1944)
Attacks on this boat
14 Jan 1944
At 21.30 hours, the outbound boat was strafed and attacked with 4 bombs by an unknown Leigh-Light equipped aircraft in the Bay of Biscay. The bombs fell wide and the boat was not damaged, but the 37mm AA gun had malfunctioned after the first shot and the barrel of a 20mm AA gun burst when fighting off a second strafing attack. (Sources: Ritschel)
25 Feb 1944
The boat met U-549 (Krankenhagen) north of the Azores to hand over a Naxos and Borkum radar detection device. At 19.53 hours, they were attacked by an unknown Catalina aircraft and while the other boat dived, U-212 fought off a first attack and then dived herself. The boats suffered no damage and the transfer was completed shortly afterwards. (Sources: Ritschel)
8 Mar 1944
At 21.57 hours, the inbound boat was strafed and attacked with 3 bombs by an unknown Liberator aircraft. The Germans repulsed the attack with AA fire, then crash-dived and escaped undamaged. (Sources: Ritschel)
7 Jun 1944
While outbound to attack the D-day invasion fleet the boat was attacked by 2 Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 228, pilots Douglas J. Turner and A. J. L. Bonnett) firing their 57mm Tsetse cannons. The boat aborted to base for repairs. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 584)
4 recorded attacks on this boat.
Schnorchel-fitted U-boat
This boat was fitted with a Schnorchel underwater-breathing apparatus in March 1944. Read more about the Schnorchel and see list of fitted boats.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-212 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
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