German submarine U-130 (1941)

German submarine U-130 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down at the AG Weser yard, Bremen as 'werk' 993 on 20 August 1940, launched on 14 March 1941 and commissioned on 11 June.

Her service life began with training in the 4th U-boat Flotilla; she moved to the 2nd Flotilla for more training on 1 September 1941 and operations with the same organization on 1 December.

She sank 21 ships, a total of and three auxiliary warships totalling 34,407 GRT in six patrols. She also damaged one ship of 6,986 GRT. She was a member of three wolf packs.

1st and 2nd patrols
The boat's operational debut was her departure from Kiel on 1 December 1941. Crossing the North Sea, she entered the Atlantic Ocean via the gap between the Faroe and the Shetland Islands. She sank the Kurdistan northwest of Northern Ireland on the 10th before docking at Lorient in occupied France on the 16th. U-130 would use this port for the rest of her career. The Kurdistan survivors were picked up by HMS HMS Kingcup (K33) and landed at Derry.

The submarine was unsuccessfully attacked by an aircraft on 12 January 1942 in the Cabot Strait, between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland on her second patrol. She then sank two ships on the 13th east of Nova Scotia. She was almost sunk by two Canadian destroyers on the 18th, but the winter weather played a part, hampering both sides. The U-boat moved south, to warmer waters.

3rd, 4th and 5th patrols
U-130's third patrol was marked by using her deck gun in conjunction with her torpedoes in the western north Atlantic and the eastern Caribbean when she sank the Grenanger on 11 April 1942 and the Esso Boston a day later.

The boat's fourth sortie also brought success, this time near the Cape Verde islands. Among others, she sank the Tankexpress, the Elmwood and the Danmark, all in July 1942.

She tried to impede the landings for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, when she sank three troop transports at anchor off Morocco on 12 November 1942. They were the USS Tasker H. Bliss, Edward Rutledge and Hugh L. Scott. The boat then headed off into the Atlantic, north of the Azores.

6th patrol and loss
Her last patrol was not without success; she sank the Trefusis, Fidra, Empire Tower and Ger-y-Bryn, all on 5 March 1943.

She was sunk on 12 March 1943 by depth charges from the American destroyer USS Champlin west of the Azores. 53 men died. There were no survivors.