German submarine U-612 was a Type VIIC U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 built for the German Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

 for service during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. She was laid down on 21 Apr 1941, launched on 9 Jan 1942 and commissioned in December 1941 or 9 Jan 1942 (sources vary). Oberleutnant Paul Siegmann was her first commanding officer.

She was sunk after a collision with U-444 on 6 August 1942 and scuttled on 2 May 1945.

Sinking

U-612, based in Danzig, was taking part in a comprehensive training programme that had commenced from the time of her commisioning. Her crew were impatient to be at sea and on patrol. On 6 August, U-612 was in her allotted 'square' in the Bay of Danzig and had dived to a depth of 25 m (82 ft). At 1142 hours, she was struck in the stern by what transpired to be another U-boat - U-444. U-612 sank rapidly in 48 m (157.5 ft) of water; the crew were picked up by two other U-boats, one of which was the hapless U-444.

Two men died in the incident.

Resurrection

U-612, under the supervision of some of her officers, was raised after seven days work using a diver and two cranes. She was slowly brought into Danzig harbour, where she was temporarily patched, checked over and the water pumped out. A more thorough inspection in dry-dock revealed that it would take eight to 12 months before she was ready for sea once more. As a result, she spent the rest of the war as a training vessel. She was scuttled on 2 May 1945.

Her original crew had been assigned to another boat.