German submarine U-123 (1940)
 U-123 at Lorient in February 1942 |
|
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-123 |
| Ordered: | 15 December, 1937 |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen, yard 955 |
| Laid down: | 15 April, 1939 |
| Launched: | 2 March, 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 30 May, 1940 |
| Decommissioned: | 17 June 1944 |
| Fate: | |
| Career (France) |  |
| Name: | Blaison (Q165) |
| Acquired: | 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 18 August 1959 |
| Fate: | Decommissioned, 18 August 1959 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Type IXB U-boat |
| Displacement: | Surfaced 1,051 tons tons submerged 1,178 tons |
| Length: | Overall 76.5 m (251 ft 0 in) pressure hull 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) |
| Beam: | Overall 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) pressure hull 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Draught: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | Diesel/Electric, 2x MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9 cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,300kW), 2xSSW GU345/34 double acting electric motors, 1000 hp (740kW) |
| Speed: | Surfaced 18.2 knots (33.7 km/h) submerged 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) |
| Range: | Surfaced: 22,200 km (12,000 nmi) at 10 knots submerged: 118 km (64 nmi) at 4 knots (7 km/h) |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 48 to 56 officers & ratings |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record | |
| Part of: | Kriegsmarine: 2nd U-boat Flotilla (Training) 2nd U-boat Flotilla (Front Boat) 2nd U-boat Flotilla (Front School Boat) |
| Identification codes: | M 08 800 |
| Commanders: | Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle Oblt. Reinhard Hardegen Oblt. Horst von Schroeter |
| Operations: | 12 |
| Victories: | 42 ships sunk for a total of 219,924 gross register tons (GRT) 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 3,209 GRT 1 warship sunk for a total of 683 tons 5 ships damaged for a total of 39,584 GRT 1 auxiliary warship damaged for a total of 13,984 GRT |
German submarine U-123 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. After World War II, she became the French submarine Blaison (Q165) until she was decommissioned on 18 August 1959.
[edit] Service history
U-123 was commissioned in May 1940, with Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Moehle in command. Moehle was relieved on 19 May 1941 by Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen, who was relieved in turn on 1 August 1942 by his watch officer, Oberleutnant zur See Horst von Schroeter. Schroeter commanded until the boat was decommissioned.
U-123 conducted 12 war patrols, sinking 45 ships totalling 227,174 tons and damaging six others totaling 53,568 tons. Among them where four Swedish merchants; Anten, Korsholm, Nanking and Venezuela.
On 17 November 1940 Mechanikergefreiter Fritz Pfeifer was lost overboard. On 4 February 1941, she torpedoed and sunk the British merchantman Empire Engineer.
U-123 took part in the opening of the Paukenschlag (Operation Drumbeat also called "Second Happy Time") in January 1942 and completed two very successful patrols off the US east coast. It sank Cyclops on 11 January. It sank the 9,760 ton tanker Norness within sight of Long Island in the early hours of 14 January 1942. It then sank the 6,768 ton British tanker Coimbra off Sandy Hook, New Jersey the following night. On 17 January it was credited to have sank the San Jose (the "San Jose" was lost in a collision).[1] On the 19 January the United States tanker Malay was damaged, it sank the United States steamship City of Atlanta, the Brazos and the Ciltvaira on the same day.
On 27 March 1942 the Q-ship USS Atik (AK-101) (Carolyn) and U-123 had a gunnery duel off the US east coast. Fähnrich zur See Rudi Holzer from U-123 was fatally wounded in the action and died a few hours later. Atik was destroyed with all hands. On the 2 of April it damaged the tanker Liebre. On the night of April 8, 1942, U-123 was positioned off the shores of St. Simons Island, Georgia and damaged the tankers Oklahoma and Esso Baton Rouge; twenty-two seamen were killed. The following day, April 9, 1942 freighter Esparta was sunk by U-123.
On the night of April 10, 1942, U-123 torpedoed and sank SS Gulfamerica about two miles off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. Gulfamerica was on its maiden voyage from Philadelphia to Port Arthur, Texas, with 90,000 barrels of fuel oil. Nineteen crewmen on the Gulfamerica were killed in the attack.[2][3][4][5]
On 16 April the U.S. freighter Alcoa Guide was sunk by U-123.
On 7 November 1943, U-123 was attacked by a de Havilland Mosquito aircraft from the Royal Air Force's No. 618 Squadron, suffering one dead and two wounded.
On 17 June 1944, U-123 was taken out of service at Lorient, and scuttled there on 19 August 1944. She was raised by France in 1945 after Germany's surrender, and became the French submarine Blaison (Q165). She was decommissioned on 18 August 1959.
[edit] References
- "Uboat.net". The Boats – U-123. http://uboat.net/boats/u123.htm. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
- "Ubootwaffe.net". U-123. http://www.ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi?boat=123. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
- "Blaison". http://www.u-boote.fr/blaison.htm. Retrieved 10 Sept 2010.
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: U-123 |
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