German submarine U-1273 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was ordered on 23 March 1942, and was laid down on 7 June 1943, at Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen-Vegesack, as yard number 68. She was launched on 10 January 1944, and commissioned under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Voswinkel on 16 February 1944. Design German Type VIIC/41 submarines were preceded by the heavier Type VIIC submarines. U-1273 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , an overall beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8-276 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-1273 was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, (220 rounds), one Flak M42 and two C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and fifty-two. Service history On 17 February 1945, U-1273 struck a British air-laid mine off Horten in the Skagerrak in Oslofjord. Kapitänleutnant Helmut Knollmann and 42 other crewmen died out of a crew of 51. The wreck now lies at . See also Battle of the Atlantic References Bibliography German Type VIIC/41 submarines U-boats commissioned in 1944 World War II submarines of Germany 1943 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Maritime incidents in February 1945 World War II shipwrecks in the Skagerrak U-boats sunk by mines