German submarine U-125

German submarine U-125 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen and commissioned in March 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Kuhnke. The submarine conducted five war patrols, operating primarily in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, and was a member of several wolfpacks, including Operation Neuland.

Service history

After commissioning into the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, U-125 was assigned to the 2nd U-boat Flotilla for front-line service. Her first patrol in September 1941 took her into the North Atlantic west of Ireland. Subsequent patrols saw her range as far as the U.S. coast and the Caribbean, where she participated in the aggressive Operation Neuland against Allied shipping in the Trinidad area. Under Kuhnke and later Kapitänleutnant Ulrich Folkers, she joined major wolfpacks such as Westwall, Pfeil, and Neptun, attacking Convoy SC 104 and Convoy ON 166. Her final commander was Oberleutnant zur See Gerhard Uhlig.

Design and description

U-125 was a Type IXC submarine, a larger ocean-going design developed from the earlier Type IXB. She had a displacement of 1,120 tonnes surfaced and 1,232 tonnes submerged. Her overall length was 76.76 meters, with a beam of 6.76 meters and a draught of 4.70 meters. The boat was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines for surface running and two Siemens-Schuckert GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors for submerged propulsion. This gave her a top speed of 18.3 knots on the surface and 7.3 knots underwater. Her armament consisted of six torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern) and she carried 22 torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun on the foredeck and various anti-aircraft guns, including a 3.7 cm SK C/30U and 2 cm Flak 30.

Summary of raiding history

During her service, U-125 sank 17 merchant ships for a total of 82,873 Gross Register Tons (GRT) and damaged two others. Notable successes included the sinking of the British SS *Garmula* and the Dutch SS *Arundo* during her second patrol. On her fourth patrol as part of Operation Neuland, she sank five ships in the waters around Trinidad, including the American SS *West Imboden* and the British SS *Empire Steel*. Her final victims were claimed during attacks on Convoy HX 233 in April 1943.

Fate

U-125 was lost on 6 May 1943 in the North Atlantic while attacking Convoy ONS 5. After being depth-charged and damaged by the British corvette HMS *Snowflake*, she was forced to surface. She was then engaged and rammed by the destroyer HMS *Oribi*. With the submarine disabled and taking on water, her crew abandoned ship. The Flower-class corvette HMS *Pink* moved in to capture survivors, but U-125 sank rapidly, taking all 54 of her crew, including Commander Uhlig, down with her.

Wreck site

The wreck of U-125 lies at a depth of approximately 2,200 meters in the North Atlantic, southwest of Iceland. The site was not precisely located for many decades. In accordance with the German War Graves Commission, the wreck is considered a war grave. Its discovery was not formally announced by major oceanographic institutions like the University of Rhode Island or Robert Ballard's teams, and it remains largely undisturbed on the ocean floor.

Category:World War II submarines of Germany Category:Type IXC submarines Category:Ships built in Bremen Category:Maritime incidents in May 1943