German submarine U-1224

One of the few known photos of U-1224: Japanese officers on its conning tower at the hand-over ceremony to the Imperial Japanese Navy
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-1224
Ordered25 August 1941
BuilderDeutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number387
Laid down30 November 1942
Launched7 July 1943
Commissioned20 October 1943
Decommissioned15 February 1944
FateTransferred to Japanese service
Empire of Japan
NameRo-501
Acquired15 February 1944
In service15 February 1944
FateSunk on 13 May 1944
NotesUsed as a training ship
General characteristics
Class and typeType IXC/40 submarine
Displacement
  • 1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a
  • 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.67 m (15 ft 4 in)
Installed power
  • 4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels)
  • 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced
  • 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range
  • 13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth230 m (750 ft)
Complement4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament
Service record (Kriegsmarine)[1]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 53 122
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Georg Preuss
  • 20 October 1943 – 15 February 1944
Operations: None
Victories: None
Service record (IJN)[2]
Part of:
Commanders:
Operations: Marco Polo II
Victories: None

German submarine U-1224 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. She was constructed by Deutsche Werft of Hamburg, and was commissioned on 20 October 1943, with Kapitänleutnant Georg Preuss in command. She was assigned to the 31st U-boat Flotilla, a submarine training unit.

In late 1943 and early 1944, she was used as a training ship for Japanese sailors. In the summer of 1943 a full crew of Japanese submariners arrived in Germany to be trained on the operations of German U-boats, on the initiative of the German naval attaché in Japan, Paul Wenneker, who wanted to share German submarine knowledge and technology with the Japanese. U-1224 was transferred into Japanese service on 15 February 1944, after the Japanese crew spent several months training in the Baltic Sea. While in Kiel, she was commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy as Ro-501, and shortly afterwards departed for Japan, along with a cargo of war materials and four Japanese naval engineers who had been studying in Germany.

Ro-501 was sunk on 13 May 1944 on her way to Japan by a U.S. Navy anti-submarine hunter-killer group, about 500 nautical miles off Cape Verde in the Atlantic, after spending two days trying to evade the pursuers.

  1. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-1224". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Ro-501". IJN Submarine Service – Ijnsubsite.info. Retrieved 3 June 2023.