German submarine U - 125 ( 1940 ) German submarine " U - 125 " was a Type IXC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . She was laid down at the AG Weser as ' werk ' 988 on 10 May 1940 , launched on 10 December and commissioned on 3 March 1941 . In seven patrols , she sank 17 ships for a total of . The boat was a member of three wolfpack s . She was sunk on 6 May 1943 . All 54 men on board died . Service history . 1st and 2nd patrols . " U - 125 " departed Kiel on 15 July 1941 on her first patrol , under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Günter Kuhnke , arriving in the recently captured French Atlantic port of Lorient fourteen days later . Her route took her along the Norwegian coast , through the ' gap ' separating the Faroe and Shetland Islands and into the Atlantic Ocean . Her second patrol took her down the coast of West Africa , then through the Atlantic and back to her homeport without making any attacks . She ranged far and wide , heading for Brazil and back to Africa , toward Sierra Leone and Liberia . 3rd patrol . " U - 125 " had her first success on her third patrol , under her new commander " Kptlt . " Ulrich Folkers , sinking the American merchant ship " West Ivis " off Cape Hatteras , North Carolina on 26 January 1942 . The ship broke in two and went down after 14 minutes . The crew of 36 and the nine Armed Guards ( the ship was armed with a 4 - inch ( 100mm ) gun , four . 50 cal . and four . 30 cal . machine guns ) were lost . 4th patrol . " U - 125 " sailed on her fourth and most successful patrol from Lorient on 4 April 1942 . She made her first attack on the 23rd , sinking the American merchant ship " Lammot Du Pont " , about southeast of Bermuda . Between 3 – 18 May , she sank a further eight merchant ships , in the Caribbean , south of Cuba , returning to her home port on 13 June . One victim , the " Calgarolite " , was hit by two torpedo s but despite settling , did not sink . The boat ' s AA guns were used to shoot holes in the hull . Following the demise of the " Camayagua " , a US Navy aircraft unsuccessfully searched for the U - boat ; then flew to Georgetown where it dropped a note in the Commissioner ' s garden with information on the survivors . 5th and 6th patrols . " U - 125 " s next patrol , the fifth , beginning on 27 July 1942 , took her to the coast of West Africa , where she sank six merchant ships between 1 September and 8 October , returning to Lorient on 6 November 1942 . Following the sinking of the " Baron Ogilvy " on 29 September , the survivors sighted a small convoy on 1 October and succeeded in attracting their attention with flares . Unfortunately , one of them ignited in the Chief Officer ' s hand , causing severe burns . < br > The " Glendene " went to the bottom 90 seconds after being hit . Despite this rapidity , 38 of the 43 - man crew survived the sinking . " U - 125 " sailed on her sixth patrol on 9 December 1942 , out into the central Atlantic , southwest of the Azores , but she made no attacks before returning to Lorient on 19 February 1943 . 7th patrol and loss . " U - 125 " left Lorient for the last time on her seventh patrol on 13 April 1943 . She joined the " wolfpack " " Fink " ( English : " Finch " ) of 28 U - boats which were attacking the convoy ONS - 5 between 26 April and 6 May 1943 . This was during a period when the British code - breakers were unable to read German U - boat signals while they could read British convoy signals , and ONS - 5 was intercepted by a strong U - boat force during an Atlantic storm . Nevertheless , the boat only sank one ship , on 4 May south of Cape Farewell ( Greenland ) , she was perhaps ironically called the " Lorient " , a straggler from ONS - 5 ; there were no survivors . ONS - 5 was a 43 - ship convoy , nine miles wide by two long , with one destroyer , one frigate , three corvettes and two rescue tugs to defend it . It was attacked by around thirty U - boats , and lost thirteen ships in total , while seven U - boats were sunk by the escorts and supporting aircraft . It was a particularly bloody battle which marked the turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic , showing that while determined mass attack by U - boats could break through convoy defences , this would prove too expensive a tactic to make U - boat warfare a winning strategy for Germany . Admiral Karl Dönitz lost his son in this battle . Fate . At 0300 on 6 May 1943 " U - 125 " was located by radar in thick fog , rammed by and disabled , she was unable to dive . At 0354 the U - boat was sighted by the Flower - class corvettes and , and as " Snowflake " manoeveured to attack , closing to 100 yards , the crew of " U - 125 " , realising their indefensible position , scuttled the boat . The captain of " Snowflake " signalled the Senior Officer Escort , Lieutenant Commander Robert Sherwood , proposing to pick them up , and received the response : " Not approved to pick up survivors . " " Snowflake " and " Sunflower " thereupon resumed their positions around the convoy , while the crew of " U - 125 " died in the Atlantic over the next few hours .