Events on this day

12 December

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This is a run-down from several databases on our site. It's meant to give a clear picture of events on this date, all year round.

U-boat Shipyard report

Ordered (0)	Laid down (2)	Launched (1)	Commissioned (6)
No U-boat orders on this date	1939: U-141, U-142	1942: U-738	1939: U-50 1941: U-458 1942: U-219 1943: U-250 U-867 1944: U-2525
These are commissioned boats. For more see our Shipyard pages.

Allied Ships hit on this date

	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons	Country	Convoy
1939
	U-59 [Mine]	Jürst	Marwick Head	496	br
1940
	U-96	Lehmann-Willenbrock	Macedonier	5,227	be	HX-92
	U-96	Lehmann-Willenbrock	Stureholm	4,575	sw	HX-92
1942
	U-161	Achilles	Ripley	4,997	br
	U-177	Gysae	Empire Gull	6,408	br
1943
	U-593	Kelbling	HMS Holcombe (L 56)	1,087	br	KMS-34
	U-593	Kelbling	HMS Tynedale (L 96)	1,000	br	KMS-34
				23,790
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk. (d) = damaged See all Allied ships hit by U-boats during WWII.

Attacks on this day

1942

U-453. U-453 sustained so much damage during a depth charge attack in the Mediterranean that she was forced to return to base.

U-boats lost

1943: U-645 +
1944: U-416

91 men died when those 2 U-boats were lost on this date. 5 men survived.

Survivors from U-boats almost always landed in allied captivity.
U-boats marked with + were lost with all hands.

- For more information on U-boat losses check out our Fates section.

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

1944

U-481
U-481 met the homebound U-958 (Groth) in the Gulf of Finland to transfer a midshipman and to take over spare parts. However, the rubber dinghy with four crew members capsized after bringing Fähnrich Jähners to U-958 which managed to rescue Matrosenobergefreiter Toni Setzwein, but the other three men drowned. [Oberbootsmaat Johannes Lenz, Matrosenobergefreiter Josef Fallert, Matrosenobergefreiter Felix Pulkner]

- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.

Personnel Information

The following men were born on this day:
Ulrich-Philipp Graf von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (1917), Heinz-Ehler Brüllau (1917), Siegfried Lindke (1900), Franz Saar (1919).

The following men died on this day:
Otto Ferro (1943), Kurt Freiwald (1975), Eberhard Rieger (1944).

See the entire U-boat commander listing showing all U-boat commanders.
We might include more officers (Allied and Axis) at a later date.

U-boat departures and arrivals on 12 December

This section shows the U-boat departures and arrivals from bases on this day of the year. Current country names shown with harbour names. Boats entering port display days at sea during that patrol.

1939

Sailed:
From Wilhelmshaven, Germany: U-60

1940

U-boats entering base:
To Lorient, France: U-99 (16 days), U-103 (34 days)

1941

U-boats entering base:
To Kirkenes U-134 (12 days), U-454 (12 days)
To Lorient, France: U-451 (18 days)
To Messina, Italy: U-652 (42 days)

1942

Sailed:
From Brest, France: U-440, U-659
From Kiel, Germany: U-384, U-629
From St. Nazaire, France: U-757
From Trondheim, Norway: U-334

U-boats entering base:
To Lorient, France: U-505 (70 days), U-510 (60 days)
To Narvik, Norway: U-378 (32 days)

1943

Sailed:
From Hammerfest, Norway: U-307
From Narvik, Norway: U-713
From Salamis, Greece: U-565

U-boats entering base:
To Bordeaux, France: U-488 (97 days)
To Brest, France: U-238 (32 days)
To Pola U-407 (32 days)
To Toulon, France: U-616 (23 days)
To Trondheim, Norway: U-601 (3 days)

1944

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-244
From Trondheim, Norway: U-278

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-275 (11 days)
To Trondheim, Norway: U-315 (4 days), U-363 (4 days)

U-boats at sea on 12 December

Boats entering port on this day are not counted, but boats departing for patrol are. (+) indicates the boat was lost during this patrol.

General Events on 12 December

1936

U-34 took a supervisory role in the German Operation Ursula in Spanish waters during the Civil War. The boat, under the command of Kptlt. Harald Grosse, sank the Spanish submarine C-3. See this article on the incident.

1939

On U-23, two later heroes of the U-boat war, Otto Kretschmer and Adi Schnee, fired two torpedoes at a rock which appeared in the darkness to be a warship.

1941

U-575 received aid at Vigo, Spain between 21.30hrs to 02.00hrs.

1942

A fire caused by a short circuit forced U-301 to return to base.

1946

The Soviet TS-16, the former U-9, was broken up at some point shortly after this date.

1993

The survivors of the sinking of the British destroyer HMS Tynedale by U-593 in 1943 invited ex-commander Kptlt. Gerd Kelbling and one of his former crew to attend a 50th anniversary commemoration of the event in Hexham, England. They were welcomed with friendship and respect.

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uboat.net

Commander file

U-boat of the Day

U-boat Finder

Events on this day

12 December

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U-boat Shipyard report

Allied Ships hit on this date

Attacks on this day

1942

U-boats lost

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

1944

Personnel Information

U-boat departures and arrivals on 12 December

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

U-boats at sea on 12 December

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

General Events on 12 December

1936

1939

1941

1942

1946

1993

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