U-124
Type | IXB | |||||
| Ordered | 15 Dec, 1937 | |||||
| Laid down | 11 Aug, 1939 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 956) | ||||
| Launched | 9 Mar, 1940 | |||||
| Commissioned | 11 Jun, 1940 | Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz (Knights Cross) | ||||
| Commanders |
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| Career | 11 patrols | 11 Jun, 1940 - 1 Aug, 1940 2. Flottille (training) 1 Aug, 1940 - 2 Apr, 1943 2. Flottille (front boat) | ||||
| Successes | 46 ships sunk for a total of 219.178 GRT 2 warships sunk for a total of 5.775 tons 4 ships damaged for a total of 30.067 GRT | |||||
| Fate | Sunk 2 April, 1943 west of Oporto, in position 41.02N, 15.39W, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the British sloop HMS Black Swan. 53 dead (all hands lost). | |||||
See the 52 ships hit by U-124 - View the 11 war patrols
Wolfpack operations
U-124 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Hecht (7 May, 1942 - 18 Jun, 1942)
Attacks on this boat
25 Aug, 1940
While attacking convoy HX 65A (2 ships sunk, 1 damaged) the boat was counter-attacked by a destroyer and forced to crash dive. During the dive the boat hit a rock formation at 295 and was brought to a standstill. At the same time depth charges rained down near the boat. The boat managed to get loose and touch bottom at 338 feet. A diver inspected the damages later and they were serious (3 of 4 forward tubes damaged) and the boat was ordered to abandon hunting and assume weather reporting duties. (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 181)
9 Dec, 1941
The boat was attacked by coastal artillery from Fort Thornton off the harbour of Georgetown on Ascension island, but suffered no damages.
1 Jan, 1943
At 15.23 hours, the boat was attacked by American Catalina aircraft (USN VP-53 / P-1) with 2 bombs east of Trinidad. No damages (Sources: Rohwer/Ritschel)
3 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
The emblem of U-124, the Edelweiss, was inspired by the loss of U-64 in April, 1940 as the boats were largely manned by the same crew, including the commander and saved from the Norwegian waters by members of the German mountain troops using that same emblem.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-124 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
 Approaching Storm, The Chewning, Alpheus J. Buy this title at amazon.co.uk 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 Grey Wolf, Grey Sea, Gasaway, E. B., 1973 (transl.) Lone Wolf, Mulligan, Timothy P., 1993 (transl.) 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  Über dem nassen Abgrund, Schulz, Wilhelm, 1994 (transl.) |
There was another U-124 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 28 Mar, 1918 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 13 Jul, 1918. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 124 during WWI.