German submarine U-126 (1940) | |
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Career (Nazi Germany) | ![]() |
Name: | U-126 |
Ordered: | 7 August 1939 |
Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
Yard number: | 989 |
Laid down: | 1 June 1940 |
Launched: | 31 December 1940 |
Commissioned: | 22 March 1941 |
Fate: | Sunk by a British aircraft, 3 June 1943[1] |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Type IXC submarine |
Displacement: |
1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged |
Length: |
76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) overall 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
Beam: |
6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) overall 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
Height: | 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) |
Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
Propulsion: |
2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,000 hp (2,983 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
Speed: |
18.2 knots (33.7 km/h) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) submerged |
Range: |
24,880 nmi (46,080 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
Complement: | 48 to 56 |
Armament: |
6 × torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern) 22 × 55 cm (22 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun[2] (110 rounds) |
Service record | |
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Part of: |
2nd U-boat Flotilla (22 March 1941–3 July 1943) |
Commanders: |
Kptlt. Ernst Bauer (22 March 1941–28 February 1943) Obtlt. Siegfried Kietz (1 March 1943–3 July 1943) |
Operations: |
1st patrol: 5 July–24 August 1941 2nd patrol: 24 September–13 December 1941 3rd patrol: 2 February 1942–29 March 1942 4th patrol: 25 April–25 July 1942 5th patrol: 19 September–7 January 1943 6th patrol: 20 March 1943–3 July 1943 |
Victories: |
24 commercial ships sunk (111,564 GRT) one warship sunk - 450 tons five ships damaged - 37,501 GRT two ships declared a total loss - 14,173 GRT |
German submarine U-126 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. In six patrols, she sank 25 ships for a total of 112,489 gross register tons (GRT). She was laid down at the AG Weser yard in Bremen as 'werk' 989 on 1 June 1940, launched on 31 December and commissioned on 22 March 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Ernst Bauer.
The submarine commenced her service with the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, an organization she would stay with, both for training and operations.[3]
Operational career[]
1st patrol[]
U-126 opened her account by damaging the British Canadian Star about 650 mi (1,050 km) west of Lands End on 20 July 1941. She had missed with torpedoes and decided to use her guns instead, but accurate return fire from the merchantman (many merchant ships had some form of defensive armament fitted), drove her off before she could finish the job. A week later, things improved when she sank the Erato on 27 July, west of northwest Spain. She used her deck gun again to sink the schooner Robert Max on 4 August east of the Azores. She sank the Yugoslavian Sud using the deck gun once more, but in conjunction with the Italian submarine Marconi on 14 August northeast of the Azores.
2nd patrol[]
The boat was rewarded with two sinkings on 10 October 1941 northeast of the Cape Verde islands; the Nailsea Manor was carrying HMS LCT-102 as deck cargo when she was attacked. U-126 also sank the Lehigh about 82 mi (132 km) off Freetown, Sierra Leone, on the 19th and the Peru on 13 November, southwest of Cape Palmas (Liberia).
She assisted survivors from the German commerce raider Atlantis on the 22nd.[4]
3rd patrol[]
The boat was also successful in early 1942 as part of Operation Drumbeat (Paukenschlag),[5] the German assault on merchant shipping along the US coast. She sank many vessels, beginning with the Gunny on 2 March about 200 mi (320 km) south of the Bermudas and finished with the Olga on the 12th. One ship that did not sink was the Colabee. She was attacked on the 13th about 10 mi (16 km) off Cape Guajaba, Cuba. The ship ran aground after being torpedoed and abandoned with her engines still running. She was salvaged, repaired and returned to service.
4th patrol[]
There was drama after the sinking of the Norwegian tanker Høegh Giant on 3 June 1942 about 400 mi (640 km) east of Guyana. The ship's master was questioned by the German sailors, but when he did not understand what was being said, the Germans fired over a lifeboat, wounding one man.[6]
Other vessels were attacked in the area of the Caribbean and the West Indies, using torpedoes and the deck gun.
5th patrol[]
Patrol number five was the boat's longest - 111 days. The voyage took the submarine to west Africa. On 1 November 1942, she sank the Liberty ship George Thatcher about 100 mi (160 km) from the coast at Gabon. She was also successful in sinking the New Toronto on the 5th 24 mi (39 km) from Kotonou; her cargo included 75 live cows.
6th patrol and loss[]
One of U-126's victims on this patrol was the Flora MacDonald, which was torpedoed on 30 May 1943 south of Freetown in Sierra Leone. The ship did not sink, but after being beached and the cargo salvaged, she burned for 16 days and was subsequently declared a total loss. The U-boat also hit the Standella on 2 June. The submarine was attacked by an aircraft (the source does not give the type), off Freetown on the 15th.
The boat was sunk by a Vickers Wellington of No. 172 Squadron RAF, on 3 July 1943, off Cape Ortegal, Spain. There were no survivors from the 55 man crew.[3][7]
Ships sunk[]
Date[8] | Name | Flag | Tonnage | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|
20 July 1941 | Canadian Star | 8,293 | Damaged | |
27 July 1941 | Erato | 5,102 | Sunk | |
27 July 1941 | Inga I | 1,304 | Sunk | |
4 August 1941 | Robert Max | 172 | Sunk | |
14 August 1941 | Sud | ![]() |
2,589 | Sunk |
10 October 1941 | HMS LCT-102* | 450 | Sunk | |
10 October 1941 | Nailsea Manor | 4,926 | Sunk | |
19 October 1941 | Lehigh | 4,983 | Sunk | |
20 October 1941 | British Mariner | 6,996 | Total loss | |
13 November 1941 | Peru | 6,981 | Sunk | |
2 March 1942 | Gunny | 2,362 | Sunk | |
5 March 1942 | Mariana | 3,110 | Sunk | |
7 March 1942 | Barbara | 4,637 | Sunk | |
7 March 1942 | Cardonia | 5,104 | Sunk | |
8 March 1942 | Esso Bolivar | ![]() |
10,389 | Damaged |
9 March 1942 | Hanseat | ![]() |
8,241 | Sunk |
12 March 1942 | Olga | 2,496 | Sunk | |
12 March 1942 | Texan | 7,005 | Sunk | |
13 March 1942 | Colabee | 5,518 | Damaged | |
3 June 1942 | Høegh Giant | 10,990 | Sunk | |
15 June 1942 | Dutch Princess | 125 | Sunk | |
16 June 1942 | Arkansan | 6,997 | Sunk | |
16 June 1942 | Kohuku | 6,062 | Sunk | |
27 June 1942 | Leiv Erikson | 9,952 | Sunk | |
29 June 1942 | Mona Marie | ![]() |
126 | Sunk |
1 July 1942 | Warrior | 7,551 | Sunk | |
3 July 1942 | Gulfbee | 7,104 | Damaged | |
1 November 1942 | George Thatcher | 7,104 | Sunk | |
4 November 1942 | Oued Grou | 792 | Sunk | |
5 May 1943 | New Toronto | 6,568 | Sunk | |
30 May 1943 | Flora MacDonald | 7,177 | Total loss | |
2 June 1943 | Standella | 6,197 | Damaged |
• Being carried aboard the Nailsea Manor as deck cargo
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 127
- ↑ Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 pp.248 and 249
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Type IXC boat U-126 - German U-boats of WWII". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/u126/htm. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ↑ Gannon, Michael - Operation Drumbeat - the dramatic true story of Germany's first U-boat attacks along the American coast in World War II, 1990, Harper and Row publishers, ISBN 0-060161155-8, p. 439.
- ↑ Gannon, p. 489.
- ↑ Høegh Giant: Norwegian Motor tanker, Ships hit by U-boats, U-Boat.net.
- ↑ Kemp, p. 127
- ↑ "Ships hit by U-126 - U-boat Successes - German U-boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u126.html. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
External links[]
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Coordinates: 52°30′N 45°20′W / 52.5°N 45.333°W
The original article can be found at German submarine U-126 (1940) and the edit history here.