U-1206

The submarine type VIIC U-1206 was ordered by the German Navy on 2nd April 1942 from the yard of F Schichau GmbH of Hamburg.  Work commenced when she was laid down on 12th June 1943 and she finally launched (Yard No 1583 ) on 30th December that year.  She measured 220.6′ x 20.3′ x 15,6′ and her tonnage was 769 displacement tons (surface) and 871 displacement tons (submerged) She was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 6-cylinder diesel engines for surface travel delivering 3000 brake horse power and two AEG GU 460/8-27 double acting electric motors delivering 740 shaft horse power for underwater travel.  These engines gave the submarine a speed of nearly 18 knots on the surface and 8 knots submerged. 

She was commissioned on 16th March 1944 and assigned to 8th Flotilla based in Danzig.  8th Flotilla was mainly a training squadron where she was commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Gunther Fritz.  In July 1944 she was handed over for active patrol duties under the command of Kapitanleutnant Karl-Adolf Schlitt. On 28th March 1945  Schlitt steered his vessel out of Kiel harbour arriving at Kristiansand, Norway 5 days later and then, on 6th April U-1206 headed out into the North Sea on her first active patrol.   

On 10th April U-1206 arrived off the Aberdeenshire coast and began searching for allied vessels to attack. The details surrounding the loss of U-1206 four days later have been the subject of myth and conjecture since she was lost.  One well known version of the cause of her loss related to a problem with the submarine toilet which allegedly resulted in the ingress of substantial quantities of seawater which reached the batteries.  The seawater then reacted with the acid releasing large quantities of chlorine gas forcing Schlitt to surface then scuttle the submarine as British surface vessels raced towards it.  Another version suggested that Schlitt, believing the war to be lost, intentionally caused a leak effectively scuttling the vessel and saving his crew.  From interviews with descendants of some of the crew it appears that, during attempts to repair a fault one of the diesel engines, the bow section started to flood and, despite the crew’s attempts to resolve the issue Schlitt was forced to surface and abandon ship after he had destroyed all the secret equipment and papers aboard and scuttled the submarine.  The crew abandoned ship in four liferafts.  Two of the rafts containing 23 German crewmen were picked up by HMT Nodzu, 14 men on a third raft were picked up a Peterhead boat called Reaper skippered by local man Alec Stephen and the fourth raft was washed ashore at Boddam.  Unfortunately three of the nine men on this raft were drowned as it came ashore. 

The position of the wreck of U-1206 remained a mystery although she was located during a seabed survey in the 1970s commissioned by BP who were planning the pipeline ashore from their recently discovered Forties oil field.  However the precise position remained unknown until, after multiple failed attempts, Buchan Divers finally dived and identified the wreck in 2012.  She lies in position 57° 18.246’N, 01° 35.832’W in 86 metres.  The wreck, which sits with a 45 degree list oriented 160/340 degrees.  She is remarkably in tact and the open torpedo tubes fore and aft confirm the actions of the crew to scuttle their vessel as they abandoned ship. 

We acknowledge the work of Buchan Divers.  More detail of the wreck is available at buchandivers.com.