German submarine U-1221

German submarine U-1221 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-1221 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of, a pressure hull length of, a beam of, a height of, and a draught of. The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 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-1221 was fitted with six torpedo tubes, 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.

U-1221 was ordered on 25 August 1941 from Deutsche Werft, AG in Hamburg under the yard number 384. Her keel was laid down on 28 October 1942 and the U-boat was launched the following year on 26 May 1943. She was commissioned into service under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Karl Kölzer in the 4th U-boat Flotilla on 11 August 1943.
On 20 January 1944, Kölzer handed over command to Oberleutnant zur See Paul Ackermann, who took her on her first—and only—patrol in the West Atlantic from 20 August until 28 November 1944.
During an air raid by Eighth Air Force on Kiel, U-1221 was hit by two bombs in the fore-ship on 3 April 1945. The U-boat sank immediately, taking the skeleton crew of 18 with her. Seven of her crew perished, while the rest was rescued through the stern torpedo tubes the next day.