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German submarine U-126 (1940)
Career (Nazi Germany) War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945
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
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 Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 8,293 Damaged
27 July 1941 Erato Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 5,102 Sunk
27 July 1941 Inga I Flag of Norway Norway 1,304 Sunk
4 August 1941 Robert Max Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 172 Sunk
14 August 1941 Sud Flag of SFR Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 2,589 Sunk
10 October 1941 HMS LCT-102* Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 450 Sunk
10 October 1941 Nailsea Manor Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 4,926 Sunk
19 October 1941 Lehigh Flag of the United States USA 4,983 Sunk
20 October 1941 British Mariner Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 6,996 Total loss
13 November 1941 Peru Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 6,981 Sunk
2 March 1942 Gunny Flag of Norway Norway 2,362 Sunk
5 March 1942 Mariana Flag of the United States USA 3,110 Sunk
7 March 1942 Barbara Flag of the United States USA 4,637 Sunk
7 March 1942 Cardonia Flag of the United States USA 5,104 Sunk
8 March 1942 Esso Bolivar Flag of Panama Panama 10,389 Damaged
9 March 1942 Hanseat Flag of Panama Panama 8,241 Sunk
12 March 1942 Olga Flag of the United States USA 2,496 Sunk
12 March 1942 Texan Flag of the United States USA 7,005 Sunk
13 March 1942 Colabee Flag of the United States USA 5,518 Damaged
3 June 1942 Høegh Giant Flag of Norway Norway 10,990 Sunk
15 June 1942 Dutch Princess Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 125 Sunk
16 June 1942 Arkansan Flag of the United States USA 6,997 Sunk
16 June 1942 Kohuku Flag of the United States USA 6,062 Sunk
27 June 1942 Leiv Erikson Flag of Norway Norway 9,952 Sunk
29 June 1942 Mona Marie Flag of Canada Canada 126 Sunk
1 July 1942 Warrior Flag of the United States USA 7,551 Sunk
3 July 1942 Gulfbee Flag of the United States USA 7,104 Damaged
1 November 1942 George Thatcher Flag of the United States USA 7,104 Sunk
4 November 1942 Oued Grou Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 792 Sunk
5 May 1943 New Toronto Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 6,568 Sunk
30 May 1943 Flora MacDonald Flag of the United States USA 7,177 Total loss
2 June 1943 Standella Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 6,197 Damaged

 • Being carried aboard the Nailsea Manor as deck cargo

See also[]

References[]

  1. Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 127
  2. Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 pp.248 and 249
  3. 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. 
  4. 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.
  5. Gannon, p. 489.
  6. Høegh Giant: Norwegian Motor tanker, Ships hit by U-boats, U-Boat.net.
  7. Kemp, p. 127
  8. "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[]


Coordinates: 52°30′N 45°20′W / 52.5°N 45.333°W / 52.5; -45.333

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