German submarine U-1226

History
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-1226
Ordered:	25 August 1941
Builder:	Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg
Yard number:	389
Laid down:	11 January 1943
Launched:	21 August 1943
Commissioned:	24 November 1943
Fate:	Lost on, or shortly after, 23 October 1944
General characteristics
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:	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught:	4.67 m (15 ft 4 in)
Installed power:	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
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:	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record^[1]^[2]
Part of:	31st U-boat Flotilla 24 November 1943 – 31 July 1944 2nd U-boat Flotilla 1 August – 30 September 1944 33rd U-boat Flotilla 1 – 28 October 1944
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. August-Wilhelm Claussen 24 November 1943 – 28 October 1944
Operations:	1 war patrol 30 September – 23 October 1944
Victories:	None

German submarine U-1226 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

The U-boat, built for service in the Battle of the Atlantic, was completed in Hamburg in November 1943, and placed under the command of Oberleutnant zur See August-Wilhem Claussen (Crew X/37), whose brother Emil had been killed on board U-469 the previous year. She underwent working up cruises in the Baltic Sea before embarking on her only operational patrol from Horten Naval Base in Norway during September 1944.

Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-1226 had a displacement of 1,144 tonnes (1,126 long tons) when at the surface and 1,257 tonnes (1,237 long tons) while submerged.^[3] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).^[3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).^[3] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,850 nautical miles (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-1226 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.^[3]

Service history

This patrol was uneventful for the first three weeks during the Atlantic crossing as she deliberately avoided the highly-effective allied countermeasures. The last contact with the boat was on 23 October 1944 reporting trouble with its Schnorchel underwater-breathing apparatus after which nothing more was heard from her. It is possible she was sunk in an unrecorded encounter with an Allied ship or aircraft, or more likely she suffered some unknown catastrophic accident which claimed the boat and all its crew.^[4]

Whatever the cause, she was given up for lost in mid-November. Her remains were claimed to have been found east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1993 however, this identification is unlikely. The vessels last radio contact instructed the submarine to maintain its faulty snorkel in the upright position and return to base, giving U-1226's position as 327 nmi (605 km) south of Iceland at 56°30′N 20°00′W / 56.500°N 20.000°W / 56.500; -20.000Coordinates: 56°30′N 20°00′W / 56.500°N 20.000°W / 56.500; -20.000.^[5]

References

↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-1226". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-1226". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, p. 68.
↑ A large number of German U-boats had been lost to snorkel defects, and its possible this was the cause of the loss of U-1226
↑ U-Boat Didn't Sink in Waters Off Cape Cod New York Times 21 July 1993

Bibliography

Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-1226". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

German Type IXC/40 submarines

U-167 U-168 U-169 U-170 U-183 U-184 U-185 U-186 U-187 U-188 U-189 U-190 U-191 U-192 U-193 U-194 U-525 U-526 U-527 U-528 U-529 U-530 U-531 U-532 U-533 U-534 U-535 U-536 U-537 U-538 U-539 U-540 U-541 U-542 U-543 U-544 U-545 U-546 U-547 U-548 U-549 U-550 U-801 U-802 U-803 U-804 U-805 U-806 U-841 U-842 U-843 U-844 U-845 U-846 U-853 U-854 U-855 U-856 U-857 U-858 U-865 U-866 U-867 U-868 U-869 U-870 U-877 U-878 U-879 U-880 U-881 U-889 U-1221 U-1222 U-1223 U-1224 U-1225 U-1226 U-1227 U-1228 U-1229 U-1230 U-1231 U-1232 U-1233 U-1234 U-1235

Preceded by: Type IXC Followed by: Type IXD

List of U-boats of Germany

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1944

Shipwrecks	3 Oct: I-177, USS Seawolf, USS Shelton 4 Oct: HMCS Chebogue, U-228, U-993 5 Oct: Sparviero 6 Oct: U-168 10 Oct: Ha-61, Ha-62, Ha-63, Ha-65, Ha-66, Ha-68, Jingei, U-2331 15 Oct: U-777 16 Oct: U-1006 17 Oct: Itsukushima 18 Oct: HMAS Geelong 23 Oct: Atago, Kimikawa Maru, Maya, V.5506 Zick 24 Oct: Arisan Maru, USS Darter, Musashi, USS Princeton, USS Shark, USS Sonoma, U-673, Wakaba 25 Oct: Akizuki, Asagumo, Chikuma, Chitose, Chiyoda, Chōkai, Fusō, USS Gambier Bay, Hatsuzuki, USS Hoel, USS Johnston, Michishio, Mogami, USS Samuel B. Roberts, HMCS Skeena, USS St. Lo, Suzuya, Tama, USS Tang, Wakaba, Yamagumo, Yamashiro, Zuihō, Zuikaku 26 Oct: Abukuma, Hayashimo, I-26, Kinu, Noshiro, Nowaki, Uranami 27 Oct: Fujinami, Shiranui, U-1060 28 Oct: USS Eversole Unknown date: USS Escolar, U-1226

Other incidents	4 Oct: U-92, U-437 8 Oct: HMCS Mulgrave 12 Oct: HMS Loyal 14 Oct: HMCS Magog 15 Oct: Leipzig 16 Oct: Externsteine 17 Oct: USS Montgomery 19 Oct: U-957 23 Oct: U-985 24 Oct: U-382

1943 1944 1945 September 1944 November 1944

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