U-125
Type | IXC | |||||
| Ordered | 7 Aug, 1939 | |||||
| Laid down | 10 May, 1940 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 988) | ||||
| Launched | 10 Dec, 1940 | |||||
| Commissioned | 3 Mar, 1941 | Kptlt. Günther Kuhnke (Knights Cross) | ||||
| Commanders |
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| Career | 7 patrols | 3 Mar, 1941 - 1 Jul, 1941 2. Flottille (training) 1 Jul, 1941 - 6 May, 1943 2. Flottille (front boat) | ||||
| Successes | 17 ships sunk for a total of 82.873 GRT | |||||
| Fate | Sunk 6 May, 1943 east of Newfoundland, in position 52.30N, 45.20W, by ramming by the British destroyer HMS Oribi and gunfire from the British corvette HMS Snowflake. 54 dead (all hands lost). | |||||
See the 17 ships hit by U-125 - View the 7 war patrols
The loss of U-125
On the night of May 6 the destroyer HMS Oribi located the U-125 in a heavy fog with its radar set just before 0300 and rammed her while doing something close to 20 knots. The boat was severely damaged and the British believed her to be sunk.
But she did survive and at 0331 Folkers radioed BdU with an urgent request for help and U-552, U-381, U-413 and U-260 were ordered to assist him (U-614 and U-402 also in the area were told to remain on station). The boats searched for the wounded boat until the morning of the 7th.
The corvette HMS Snowflake got a radar contact 0354 and soon the contact had closed to 100 meters! The starlights were turned on and revealed a heavily damaged U-boat and apparently already sinking. The corvette tried to ram but the boat escaped the turn. The crew of U-125 scuttled their boat with 5 explosive charges while almost alongside the HMS Snowflake and waited in the water to be rescued. Another corvette HMS Sunflower did reach the scene about this time. The commander of the corvette radioed the escort commander in HMS Tay but was given the shocking reply:
- "Not approved to pick up survivors".
The corvettes HMS Sunflower and HMS Snowflake then turned towards the convoy leaving the men in the water. Kptlt. Folkers and his crew of 54 men died during that night.
Wolfpack operations
U-125 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Specht (27 Apr, 1943 - 4 May, 1943)
Fink (4 May, 1943 - 6 May, 1943)
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-125 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
 German U-Boat Losses During World War II Niestle, Axel Buy this title at amazon.com See more sellers |
Books dealing with this subject include: The Approaching Storm, Chewning, Alpheus J., 1994 German U-Boat Losses During World War II, Niestle, Axel, 1998 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 |
There was another U-125 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 26 May, 1918 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 4 Sep, 1918. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 125 during WWI.