German submarine U - 126 ( 1940 ) German submarine " U - 126 " was a Type IXC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . In six patrols , she sank 25 ships for a total of . She was laid down at the AG Weser yard in Bremen as ' werk ' 989 on 1 June 1940 , launched on 31 December and commissioned on 22 March 1941 under " Kapitänleutnant " Ernst Bauer . The submarine commenced her service with the 2nd U - boat Flotilla , an organization she would stay with , both for training and operations . Operational career . 1st patrol . " U - 126 " opened her account by damaging the British " Canadian Star " about west of Lands End on 20 July 1941 . She had missed with torpedoes and decided to use her guns instead , but accurate return fire from the merchantman ( many merchant ships had some form of defensive armament fitted ) , drove her off before she could finish the job . A week later , things improved when she sank the " Erato " on 27 July , west of northwest Spain . She used her deck gun again to sink the schooner " Robert Max " on 4 August east of the Azores . She sank the Yugoslavian " Sud " using the deck gun once more , but in conjunction with the Italian submarine " Marconi " on 14 August northeast of the Azores . 2nd patrol . The boat was rewarded with two sinkings on 10 October 1941 northeast of the Cape Verde islands ; the " Nailsea Manor " was carrying HMS " LCT - 102 " as deck cargo when she was attacked . " U - 126 " also sank the " Lehigh " about off Freetown , Sierra Leone , on the 19th and the " Peru " on 13 November , southwest of Cape Palmas ( Liberia ) . She assisted survivors from the German commerce raider " Atlantis " on the 22nd . 3rd patrol . The boat was also successful in early 1942 as part of Operation " Drumbeat " ( Paukenschlag ) , the German assault on merchant shipping along the US coast . She sank many vessels , beginning with the " Gunny " on 2 March about south of the Bermudas and finished with the " Olga " on the 12th . One ship that did not sink was the " Colabee " . She was attacked on the 13th about off Cape Guajaba , Cuba . The ship ran aground after being torpedoed and abandoned with her engines still running . She was salvaged , repaired and returned to service . 4th patrol . There was drama after the sinking of the Norwegian tanker " Høegh Giant " on 3 June 1942 about east of Guyana . The ship ' s master was questioned by the German sailors , but when he did not understand what was being said , the Germans fired over a lifeboat , wounding one man . Other vessels were attacked in the area of the Caribbean and the West Indies , using torpedoes and the deck gun . 5th patrol . Patrol number five was the boat ' s longest - 111 days . The voyage took the submarine to west Africa . On 1 November 1942 , she sank the Liberty ship " George Thatcher " about from the coast at Gabon . She was also successful in sinking the " New Toronto " on the 5th from Kotonou ; her cargo included 75 live cows . 6th patrol and loss . One of " U - 126 " s victims on this patrol was the " Flora MacDonald " , which was torpedoed on 30 May 1943 south of Freetown in Sierra Leone . The ship did not sink , but after being beached and the cargo salvaged , she burned for 16 days and was subsequently declared a total loss . The U - boat also hit the " Standella " on 2 June . The submarine was attacked by an aircraft ( the source does not give the type ) , off Freetown on the 15th . The boat was sunk by a Vickers Wellington of No . 172 Squadron RAF , on 3 July 1943 , off Cape Ortegal , Spain . There were no survivors from the 55 man crew . Ships sunk . Being carried aboard the " Nailsea Manor " as deck cargo