German submarine U-212

German submarine U-212 was a Type VIIC U-boat that served with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Laid down on 17 May 1941 as 'werk' 641 at F. Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel, she was launched on 11 March 1942 and commissioned on 25 April under the command of Oberleutnant Helmut Vogler.

She began her service career in training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 11th flotilla on 1 October 1942, the 13th flotilla on 1 June 1943 and the 3rd flotilla on 1 November.

She was a member of 13 wolf packs. She carried out fifteen patrols, but sank only one ship.

She was sunk by British warships in July 1944.

1st to 6th patrols
Her first six patrols were of little interest; being confined to the waters of the north: around Iceland, Greenland, Bear Island and Jan Mayen Island. In that time (September 1942–July 1943), she was based at Narvik, Bergen and Hammerfest in Norway.

7th patrol
It was during this sortie that the boat could claim her only victim; the Soviet Majakovski, sunk by a mine on 5 August 1943, laid by U-212 on 31 July.

8th patrol
The submarine departed Bergen and Norwegian waters, on 11 October 1943. Passing through the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, she headed for Newfoundland, docking at La Pallice / La Rochelle in occupied France, on 2 December.

9th patrol
Patrol number nine was U-212's longest, at 63 days.

She was strafed by an unidentified Leigh Light - equipped aircraft on 14 January 1944. The 37mm AA gun malfunctioned after just one round was fired and the barrel of a 20mm weapon burst. No damage was inflicted by the air attack on the outbound U-boat.

On 25 February 1944, she met U-549 to transfer some radar detection equipment. Both submarines were caught on the surface by an unidentified Catalina flying boat. U-549 dived immediately, but U-212 chose to put up some resistance before joining her sister. The boat was not damaged.

She was also unsuccessfully attacked by an unidentified B-24 Liberator on 8 March while inbound.

10th patrol
If her ninth foray was her longest, her tenth and thirteenth outings were the shortest - three days each. They both started and finished in La Pallice.

11th patrol
This mission was also cut short; while sailing to interfere with the D-Day landings, the boat was attacked by two 57mm Tsetse cannon-firing Mosquitoes of No. 228 Squadron RAF. U-212 returned to base for repairs on 9 June 1944.

12th, 13th and 14th patrols
The boat did not get out of the Bay of Biscay, moving to Brest at the end of her fourteenth effort.

15th patrol and loss
She left France for the last time on 5 July 1944. She was sunk south of Brighton in the English Channel on 21 July by depth charges dropped from the British frigates HMS Curzon and Ekins.

Forty-nine men died; there were no survivors.