SM ''U-12'' was a German submarine, built in 1911 and sunk off Scotland in 1915. It was the first submarine to launch a plane at sea. ''U-12'' was a Type U 9

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 ...

built for the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaise ...

. Her construction was ordered on 15 July 1908 and her keel was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

by Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig. She was launched on 6 May 1910 and commissioned on 13 August 1911. The German Empire was the first nation to experiment with

submarine aircraft carrier A submarine aircraft carrier is a submarine equipped with aircraft for observation or attack missions. These submarines saw their most extensive use during World War II, although their operational significance remained rather small. The most fam ...

s. Oberleutnant zur See

Friedrich von Arnauld de la Perière Friedrich von Arnauld de la Perière (17 June 1888 in Breslau – 12 October 1969 in Friedrichshafen) was a German aviator and Generalleutnant of the Luftwaffe. He dropped the first bombs on England in World War I World War I (28 July 191 ...

of the Naval Air Service and ''U-12s Kapitanleutnant

Walther Forstmann Walther Forstmann (9 March 1883 – 2 November 1973) was one of the most highly decorated U-boat commanders in the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' during World War I. He also served in the ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II in different staff positions. ...

theorised that they could increase the range of their

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

s by carrying the aircraft out to sea on the deck of submarine and launching the seaplanes after the sub partially submerged, allowing the plane to float off.

Service history

On 15 January 1915 ''U-12'' left

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zee ...

transporting a

Friedrichshafen FF.29 The Friedrichshafen FF.29 was a German lightweight two-seat floatplane of the 1910s produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen. Development and design The FF.29 was designed as a lightweight floatplane, a biplane powered by a Mercedes D.II inline ...

seaplane on its deck. Once beyond the safety of the breakwater, the captain realised that the heavy swell might swamp the aircraft and ordered the immediate launch of the seaplane. Forstmann flooded the sub's forward tanks and Arnauld floated the seaplane off the deck and took off from the sea. The German plane flew along the English coastline undetected and returned safely to Zeebrugge. ''U-12'' torpedoed the British gunboat at Deal on 11 November 1914. This was the first Allied casualty from submarines based in Belgian ports. On 10 March 1915, while on patrol off the east coast of Britain, ''U-12'' was hunted down by the three Royal Navy destroyers , and .

Fate

The submarine attempted to dive under the surface but was rammed by ''Ariel''. ''U-12'' then surfaced and was shelled by ''Acheron'' and ''Attack'' and sank with the loss of 19 lives although 10 survivors were rescued.

Wrecksite

In January 2008, divers Jim MacLeod, of

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Fal ...

, and Martin Sinclair, from Falkirk, found the wreckage of ''U-12'' about 25 miles from

Eyemouth Eyemouth ( sco, Heymooth) is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north–south A1 road and north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town's name comes from its location at the ...

after a five-year search.

Summary of raiding history

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0012 U-boats commissioned in 1911 World War I submarines of Germany Submarine aircraft carriers U-boats sunk in 1915 1910 ships Type U 9 submarines Ships built in Danzig World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea U-boats sunk by British warships