German submarine U-122 (1939)
German submarine "U-122" was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" that operated during World War II. She was ordered on 15 December 1937 and was laid down on 5 March 1939 at DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen, becoming yard number 954. She was launched on 20 December 1939 and commissioned under her first and only commander, "Korvettenkapitän" Hans-Günther Looff on 30 March 1940. Design. German Type IXB submarines were slightly larger than the original German Type IX submarines, later designated IXA. "U-122" had a displacement of when at the surface and while  submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of  . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . "U-122" was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight. Service history. She carried out two combat patrols with the 2nd U-boat Flotilla. On her first foray in May 1940, she transported an 88 mm Flak (anti-aircraft gun) with ammunition, some bombs, 90 cbm (some ) of fuel for  aircraft and some motor oil to Trondheim during the Norwegian campaign. On 23 May she encountered an enemy submarine in the North Atlantic, but neither boat attacked each other. She sank a single ship during her career, the (5911 GRT) on 20 June 1940. She was declared missing with all hands after 22 June 1940 between the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay. She may have collided with the vessel "San Felipe" on 22 June, or been sunk by depth charges from the corvette on 23 June. Some Dutch and Polish authors suggest that "U-122" was sunk after being  rammed by the submarine ORP "Wilk" on 20 June soon after midnight. The first officer of "Wilk" reported in his memoirs ramming a surfaced U-boat while it was attempting to dive. This version was often disputed and an alternative theory states that "Wilk" instead rammed and sank the Dutch submarine "O-13", or most probably, a minefield protector buoy rather than a submarine. Moreover, the "U-122" sank the SS "Empire Conveyor" during the day following the "Wilk's" collision, and she was too far away then, and reported her position for the last time on 21 June. German submarine U-122