German submarine ''U-1230'' was a
Type IXC/40 U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's ''
Kriegsmarine'' during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Laid down on 15 March 1943 at the
Deutsche Werft
Deutsche Werft (English: German Shipyard) was a shipbuilding company in Finkenwerder Rüschpark, Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1918 by Albert Ballin and with Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH), ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) and ' ...
in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, postal ...
, and
commissioned on 26 January 1944 under the command of ''
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...
'' Hans Hilbig, it only undertook one patrol, operating from
Horten Naval Base, Norway, returning safely to
Kristiansand
Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...
, Norway in early 1945.
Design
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original
Type IXCs. ''U-1230'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a
pressure hull
A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...
length of , a
beam of , a height of , and a
draught of . The submarine was powered by two
MAN
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
M 9 V 40/46
supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two
Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966.
Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...
2 GU 345/34
double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two
propellers. 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-1230'' was fitted with six
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 two at the stern), 22
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
es, one
SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a
Flak M42 as well as two twin
C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a
complement
A complement is something that completes something else.
Complement may refer specifically to:
The arts
* Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave
** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...
of forty-eight.
Service history
Its one war patrol was of historical interest less for its role in the
Battle of the Atlantic (a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
steamer of 5,458
Gross register tonnage was its sole victim), than for its role in transporting two German
spies
Spies most commonly refers to people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations.
Spies or The Spies may also refer to:
* Spies (surname), a German surname
* Spies (band), a jazz fusion band
* Spies (song), "Spies" (song), a song by ...
to the United States.
Operation ''Magpie''
William Curtis Colepaugh and
Eric Gimpel were landed at
Hancock Point in the
Gulf of Maine
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on 29 November 1944 in
Operation Elster
Operation Elster ("Magpie" in English) was a German espionage mission intended to gather intelligence on U.S. military and technology facilities during World War II. The mission commenced in September 1944 with two Nazi agents sailing from Kiel, ...
("Magpie"). The mission was intended to gather technical intelligence but failed, and both spies were captured.
Fate
At the end of the war it was captured by the
Allies, transferred to
Loch Ryan
Loch Ryan ( gd, Loch Rìoghaine, ) is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The town of Stranraer is the largest settlemen ...
in Scotland, and sunk on 17 December 1945 by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
frigate as part of "
Operation Deadlight
Operation Deadlight was the code name for the Royal Navy operation of November 1945 – February 1946 to scuttle German U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.
Operation
Of the 156 U-boats ...
". Unusually for a U-boat, ''U-1230'' does not seem to have suffered any casualties during the war.
Summary of raiding history
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
ibiblio.org webpage for Allied report on the interrogations of Gimpel and Colepaugh
{{DEFAULTSORT:U1230
Captured U-boats
Operation Deadlight
Ships built in Hamburg
German Type IX submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1944
World War II submarines of Germany
1943 ships
U-boats sunk in 1945
Ships sunk as targets
U-boats sunk by British warships
Maritime incidents in December 1945