German submarine U-130 (1941)

Service record
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla; (21 May 1941–30 June 1941); 2nd U-boat Flotilla; (1 July 1941–1 July 1944)
Commanders:	Krvtkpt. Ernst Kals; (11 June 1941–1 January 1943); Oberleutnant Siefried Keller; (7 February 1943–12 March 1943)
Operations:	1st patrol:; 1 December–16 December 1941; 2nd patrol:; 27 December–25 February 1942; 3rd patrol:; 24 March 1942–6 June 1942; 4th patrol:; 4 July–12 September 1942; 5th patrol:; 29 Octoberl–30 December 1942; 6th patrol:; 28 February 1943–12 March 1943
Victories:	21 commercial ships sunk (127,608 GRT); three auxillary warships sunk (34,407 GRT); one ship damaged (6,986 GRT)

German submarine U-130 (1941)
German submarine U-130 (1941)
Name:	U-130
Ordered:	7 August 1939
Builder:	AG Weser in Bremen
Laid down:	20 August 1940
Launched:	14 March 1941
Commissioned:	11 June 1941
Fate:	Sunk west of the Azores on 12 March 1943 by USS Champlin
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 (110 rounds)

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-130.

German submarine U-130 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down at the AG Weser yard, Bremen as 'werk' 993 on 20 August 1940, launched on 14 March 1941 and commissioned on 11 June.

Her service life began with training in the 4th U-boat Flotilla; she moved to the 2nd Flotilla for more training on 1 September 1941 and operations with the same organization on 1 December.

She sank 21 ships, a total of 127,608 GRT and three auxiliary warships totalling 34,407 GRT in six patrols. She also damaged one ship of 6,986 GRT. She was a member of three wolf packs.

Operational career[]

1st and 2nd patrols[]

The boat's operational debut was her departure from Kiel on 1 December 1941. Crossing the North Sea, she entered the Atlantic Ocean via the gap between the Faroe and the Shetland Islands. She sank the Kurdistan northwest of Northern Ireland on the 10th before docking at Lorient in occupied France on the 16th. U-130 would use this port for the rest of her career. The Kurdistan survivors were picked up by HMS Kingcup (K33) and landed at Derry. The submarine was unsuccessfully attacked by an aircraft on 12 January 1942 in the Cabot Strait, between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland on her second patrol. She then sank two ships on the 13th east of Nova Scotia. She was almost sunk by two Canadian destroyers on the 18th, but the winter weather played a part, hampering both sides. The U-boat moved south, to warmer waters.

3rd, 4th and 5th patrols[]

U-130's third patrol was marked by using her deck gun in conjunction with her torpedoes in the western north Atlantic and the eastern Caribbean when she sank the Grenanger on 11 April 1942 and the Esso Boston a day later.

The boat's fourth sortie also brought success, this time near the Cape Verde islands. Among others, she sank the Tankexpress, the Elmwood and the Danmark, all in July 1942.

She tried to impede the landings for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, when she sank three troop transports at anchor off Morocco on 12 November 1942. They were the USS Tasker H. Bliss, Edward Rutledge and Hugh L. Scott. The boat then headed off into the Atlantic, north of the Azores.

6th patrol and loss[]

Her last patrol was not without success; she sank the Trefusis, Fidra, Empire Tower and Ger-y-Bryn, all on 5 March 1943.

She was sunk on 12 March 1943 by depth charges from the American destroyer USS Champlin west of the Azores. 53 men died. There were no survivors.

Summary of raiding history[]

Date^[3]	Name	Flag	Tonnage	Fate
10 December 1941	Kirnwood	United Kingdom	3,829	Sunk
10 December 1941	Kurdistan	United Kingdom	5,844	Sunk
10 December 1941	Star of Luxor	Egypt	5,298	Sunk
13 January 1942	Friar Rock	Panama	5,427	Sunk
13 January 1942	Frisco	Norway	1,582	Sunk
21 January 1942	Alexander Høegh	Norway	8,248	Sunk
25 January 1942	Varanger	Norway	9,305	Sunk
27 January 1942	Francis E. Powell	USA	7,096	Sunk
27 January 1942	Halo	USA	6,986	Damaged
11 April 1942	Grenanger	Norway	5,393	Sunk
11 April 1942	Esso Boston	USA	7,699	Sunk
25 July 1942	Tankexpress	Norway	10,095	Sunk
27 July 1942	Elmwood	Norway	7,167	Sunk
30 July 1942	Danmark	United Kingdom	8,391	Sunk
9 August 1942	Malmanger	Norway	7,078	Sunk
11 August 1942	Mirlo	Norway	7,455	Sunk
25 August 1942	Viking Star	United Kingdom	6,445	Sunk
26 August 1942	Beechwood	United Kingdom	4,897	Sunk
12 November 1942	USS Edward Rutledge	USA	9,360	Sunk
12 November 1942	USS Hugh L. Scott	USA	12,479	Sunk
12 November 1942	USS Tasker H. Bliss	USA	12,568	Sunk
5 March 1943	Empire Tower	United Kingdom	4,378	Sunk
5 March 1943	Fidra	United Kingdom	1,574	Sunk
5 March 1943	Ger-y-Bryn	United Kingdom	5,108	Sunk
5 March 1943	Trefusis	United Kingdom	5,299	Sunk

References[]

↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 107
↑ Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 pp. 248 and 249
↑ "Ships hit by U-130 - U-boat Successes - German U-boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u130.html. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

External links[]

U-130 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)