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 |
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| Successes | 46 ships sunk, total tonnage 219,862 GRT 2 warships sunk, total tonnage 5,775 tons 4 ships damaged, total tonnage 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). | |||||||||||
Wolfpack operations
U-124 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Süd (22 Jul 1941 - 5 Aug 1941)
Hecht (8 May 1942 - 18 Jun 1942)
Attacks on this boat
25 Aug 1940
In the late evening, the boat successfully attacked convoy HX-65A and then dived to evade HMS Godetia, which dropped 12 depth charges and then lost contact to U-124 because she lied stopped on the bottom for one hour after hitting a rock formation at a depth of 90 meters. The U-boat was not damaged by the attack itself, but the collision had damaged three of the four bow torpedo tubes so the boat was ordered to assume weather reporting duties for the rest of her patrol.
17 Oct 1940
At 08.55 hours, the boat encountered HMS Clyde while acting as weather boat in the North Atlantic. Assuming the vessel to be a destroyer U-124 immediately dived and did not realize that the submarine fired three torpedoes at her at 09.06 hours. (Sources: KTB U-124/Patrol report HMS Clyde)
9 Dec 1941
The boat was attacked by coastal artillery from Fort Thornton off the harbour of Georgetown on Ascension island, but suffered no damage.
1 Jan 1943
At 15.23 hours, the boat crash-dived when attacked by an American Catalina flying boat (VP-53 USN/P-1) east of Trinidad. The aircraft dropped two depth charges that caused no damage. (Sources: Rohwer/Ritschel)
4 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.
U-boat Emblems
We have 2 emblem entry for this boat! See the emblem page for this boat or view each one below.
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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 12 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.