German submarine U - 105 ( 1940 ) German submarine " U - 105 " was a Type IXB U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " . She was ordered in May 1938 as part of Germany ' s naval rearmament program . Her keel was laid down in Bremen in November 1938 . After roughly seven months of construction , she was launched in June 1940 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in September 1940 . During her three - year career , " U - 105 " sank 23 vessels for a total loss of 125 , 470 GRT before being sunk by the Free French Forces off the coast of Dakar ( Senegal ) in June 1943 . Construction and design . Construction . " U - 105 " was ordered by the German Kriegsmarine on 24 May 1938 ; her keel was laid down on 16 November 1938 by AG Weser in Bremen as " Werk 968 " . She was launched on 15 June 1940 and commissioned on 10 September under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Georg Schewe . Design . Like all Type IXB U - boats , " U - 105 " had a total output of 3 , 281 kW ( 4 , 400 hp ) when surfaced and 746 kW ( 1 , 000 hp ) while underwater . As a result , she was capable of travelling at up to 33 . 9 km / h ( 18 . 3 knots ) on the surface and 13 . 5 km / h ( 7 . 3 knots ) when submerged . She had a range of 44 , 100 km ( 22 , 200 nautical miles ) at 19 km / h ( 10 knots ) while on the surface and 219 km ( 118 nautical miles ) at 7 . 4 km / h ( 4 knots ) when submerged . She was equipped with six torpedo tubes ; four in the bow and two in the stern and carried a total of 22 533 mm ( 21 in ) torpedoes . " U - 105 " ' s main deck gun was an " Utof " 10 . 5 cm SK C / 32 naval gun with 110 rounds . She was also equipped with 2 cm FlaK 30 and 3 . 7 cm FlaK 43 anti - aircraft guns . Service history . Under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Georg Schewe , " U - 105 " left Kiel on 24 December 1940 . She spent 39 days in the North Sea . During this patrol , she sank the British ship " Bassano " on 9 January 1941 , and the " Lurigethan " , part of Convoy SL - 61 , on 26 January 1941 , totalling 8 , 407 GRT . Five days later , on 31 January , " U - 105 " arrived at the German - occupied port of Lorient , France , which would remain her home port for the rest of her career . 1941 . " U - 105 " left Lorient on her second patrol on 22 February 1941 and underwent a 112 - day voyage in the Atlantic Ocean . Along with " U - 124 " , she was directed by the Oberkommando der Marine ( Supreme naval headquarters ) , to attack Convoy SL - 67 . During this attack , " U - 105 " sank the merchant ship " Harmodius " , on 8 March . Collectively , the two U - boats sank a total of 28 , 148 tons . " U105 " then stalked Convoy SL - 68 , sinking the " Medjerda " on 18 March , the " Mandalika " on 19 March and the " Clan Ogilvy " , the " Benwyvis " and the " Jhelum " , all on the 21st . " U - 105 " went on to score Nazi Germany ' s first kill off the coast of South America when she sank the " Ena de Larrinaga " on 5 April 1941 . Later during the patrol she sank the " Oakdene " , part of Convoy OG - 59 . On 6 May , the " Benvrackie " , part of Convoy OB - 312 ; on the 13th , the " Benvenue " part of Convoy OB - 314 and on the 15th , the " Rodney Star " on 16 May and the " Scottish Monarch " on 1 June as part of Convoy OB - 319 . This was the second most successful U - boat patrol of the entire Second World War , with 12 ships sunk for a total of 71 , 450 GRT . On 5 May 1941 , the 105mm deck gun exploded , wounding six crew members . " U - 105 " returned to Lorient on 13 June , and remained there until 3 August , when she departed on her third war patrol . On 5 August she was assigned to wolfpack ' Hammer ' and remained with it until it was disbanded on 12 August , when she was reassigned to wolfpack ' Grönland ' , with which she remained until its disbanding on 27 August . She was then assigned to wolfpack ' Margrave ' , and sank the Panamanian merchant ship " Montana " , part of Convoy SC - 42 , on 11 September . She returned to Lorient nine days later . " U - 105 " left Lorient on her fourth patrol on 8 November 1941 and spent 36 days in the North Atlantic . On 14 November she was assigned to wolfpack ' Steuben ' and remained with it until 2 December . Having sunk no ships during the patrol , she returned to Lorient on 13 December 1941 . Georg Schewe left the boat shortly after this patrol , and was replaced as commander by Heinrich Schuch . 1942 . On 25 January 1942 " U - 105 " left Lorient on her fifth patrol . On 31 January she sank the British warship HMS " Culver " , part of Convoy SL - 98 , south - west of Ireland , and , on 5 February 1942 , she rescued seven men from a crashed German Dornier Do 24 350 miles off the coast of France . " U - 105 " returned to Lorient on 8 February . Seventeen days later , on 25 February , " U - 105 " left Lorient . Between 25 and 27 March , she sank the British merchant ship " Narragansett " and the Norwegian merchant ship " Svenør " off the east coast of the United States . " U - 105 " returned to Lorient on 15 April after spending 50 days in the North Atlantic , and left on another patrol on 7 June . While crossing the Bay of Biscay , she was attacked by an Australian Short Sunderland aircraft from No . 10 Squadron RAAF . " U - 105 " sought shelter in El Ferrol , Spain and did not leave until 28 June , when she departed for Lorient , which she reached on the 30th . The attack apparently caused serious damage , as she did not sail again until 23 November . During this period , " Oberleutnant zur See " Hans - Adolf Schweichel was put in command of the boat , but did not undertake any patrols and was replaced by " Oberleutnant zur See " Jürgen Nissen , under whose command " U - 105 " left Lorient . While patrolling the North Atlantic she succeeded in sinking three British merchant ships ; the " Orfor " on 14 December 1942 , the " C . S . Flight " on 12 January 1943 , and the " British Vigilance " , part of Convoy TM - 1 , on 24 January , as well as the American freighter " Cape Decision " on the 27th . " U - 105 " returned to Lorient on 14 February , and remained there until 16 March . During this patrol , ( on 1 April ) , the boat ' s commander , Jürgen Nissen , was promoted to " Kapitänleutnant " . On 15 May 1943 " U - 105 " sank the Greek merchant ship " Maroussio Logothetis " 250 miles southwest of Freetown . On 2 June 1943 , while passing close to Dakar , " U - 105 " was attacked and sunk by a Potez - CAMS 141 flying boat " Antarés " from Free French Squadron 141 . All 53 crew members were killed . Summary of raiding history . * Sailing vessel