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German submarine U-126 (1940)

Coordinates: 52°30′N 45°20′W / 52.500°N 45.333°W / 52.500; -45.333
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For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-126.

U-505, a typical Type IXC boat
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-126
Ordered7 August 1939
BuilderDeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number989
Laid down1 June 1940
Launched31 December 1940
Commissioned22 March 1941
FateSunk by a British aircraft, 3 July 1943[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeType IXC submarine
Displacement
  • 1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) overall
  • 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power
  • 4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels)
  • 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced
  • 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range
  • 13,450 nmi (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth230 m (750 ft)
Complement4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Identification codes: M 40 082
Commanders:
Operations:
  • 6 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 5 July – 24 August 1941
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 24 September – 13 December 1941
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 2 February – 29 March 1942
  • 4th patrol:
  • 25 April – 25 July 1942
  • 5th patrol:
  • 19 September – 7 January 1943
  • 6th patrol:
  • 20 March – 3 July 1943
Victories:
  • 24 merchant ships sunk
    (111,564 GRT)
  • 1 warship sunk
    (450 tons)
  • 2 merchant ships total loss
    (14,173 GRT)
  • 5 merchant ships damaged
    (37,501 GRT)

German submarine U-126 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. In six patrols, she sank 25 ships for a total of 111,564 gross register tons (GRT) and 450 tons. She was laid down at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen as yard number 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.[1]

Design

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German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-126 had a displacement of 1,120 tonnes (1,100 long tons) when at the surface and 1,232 tonnes (1,213 long tons) while submerged.[2] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 metric horsepower (740 kW; 990 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[2]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,450 nautical miles (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-126 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.[2]

Service history

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First patrol

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U-126 opened her account by damaging the British Canadian Star about 650 nmi (1,200 km; 750 mi) 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 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.

Second patrol

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The boat was rewarded with two sinkings on 10 October 1941 northeast of the Cape Verde islands; Nailsea Manor was carrying HMS LCT-102 as deck cargo when she was attacked. U-126 also sank Lehigh about 82 nmi (152 km; 94 mi) off Freetown, Sierra Leone, on the 19th and Peru on 13 November, southwest of Cape Palmas (Liberia).

She assisted survivors from the German commerce raider Atlantis on the 22nd.[3]

Third patrol

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The boat was also successful in early 1942 as part of Operation Drumbeat (Paukenschlag),[4] the German assault on merchant shipping along the US coast. She sank many vessels, beginning with Gunny on 2 March about 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) south of the Bermudas and finished with Olga on the 12th. One ship that did not sink was Colabee. She was attacked on the 13th about 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) 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.

Fourth patrol

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There was drama after the sinking of the Norwegian tanker Høegh Giant on 3 June 1942 about 400 nmi (740 km; 460 mi) 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.[5]

Other vessels were attacked in the area of the Caribbean and the West Indies, using torpedoes and the deck gun.

Fifth patrol

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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 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) from the coast at Gabon. She was also successful in sinking New Toronto on the fifth 24 nmi (44 km; 28 mi) from Kotonou; her cargo included 75 live cows.

Sixth patrol and loss

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One of U-126's victims on this patrol was 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 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.[1][6]

Summary of raiding history

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Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 1] Fate[7]
20 July 1941 Canadian Star  United Kingdom 8,293 Damaged
27 July 1941 Erato  United Kingdom 1,335 Sunk
27 July 1941 Inga I  Norway 1,304 Sunk
4 August 1941 Robert Max  United Kingdom 172 Sunk
14 August 1941 Sud  Yugoslavia 2,589 Sunk
10 October 1941 HMS LCT-102*  Royal Navy 450 Sunk
10 October 1941 Nailsea Manor  United Kingdom 4,926 Sunk
19 October 1941 Lehigh  United States 4,983 Sunk
20 October 1941 British Mariner  United Kingdom 6,996 Total loss
13 November 1941 Peru  United Kingdom 6,961 Sunk
2 March 1942 Gunny  Norway 2,362 Sunk
5 March 1942 Mariana  United States 3,110 Sunk
7 March 1942 Barbara  United States 4,637 Sunk
7 March 1942 Cardonia  United States 5,104 Sunk
8 March 1942 Esso Bolivar  Panama 10,389 Damaged
9 March 1942 Hanseat  Panama 8,241 Sunk
12 March 1942 Olga  United States 2,496 Sunk
12 March 1942 Texan  United States Navy 7,005 Sunk
13 March 1942 Colabee  United States 5,518 Damaged
3 June 1942 Høegh Giant  Norway 10,990 Sunk
15 June 1942 Dutch Princess  United Kingdom 125 Sunk
16 June 1942 Arkansan  United States 6,997 Sunk
16 June 1942 Kohuku  United States 6,062 Sunk
27 June 1942 Leiv Erikson  Norway 9,952 Sunk
29 June 1942 Mona Marie  Canada 126 Sunk
1 July 1942 Warrior  United States 7,551 Sunk
3 July 1942 Gulfbee  United States 7,104 Damaged
1 November 1942 George Thatcher  United States 7,176 Sunk
4 November 1942 Oued Grou  United Kingdom 792 Sunk
5 May 1943 New Toronto  United Kingdom 6,568 Sunk
30 May 1943 Flora MacDonald  United States 7,177 Total loss
2 June 1943 Standella  United Kingdom 6,197 Damaged

 • Being carried aboard Nailsea Manor as deck cargo

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-126". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
  3. ^ 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 0-06-016155-8, p. 439.
  4. ^ Gannon, p. 489.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Høegh Giant: Norwegian Motor tanker". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net.
  6. ^ Kemp 1999, p. 127.
  7. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-126". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 9 July 2012.

Bibliography

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  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Kemp, Paul (1999). Ships hit by U-Boats Destroyed – German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
[edit]
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-126". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  • Hofmann, Markus. "U 126". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.

52°30′N 45°20′W / 52.500°N 45.333°W / 52.500; -45.333

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