U-120

Type: II-B
Built by: Flenderwerft (Lübeck)
Launched: 16 March, 1940
Commissioned: 20 April 1940
Feldpost Nr.: M03700
Date sunk: May 1945
Sunk by: Scuttled by crew
Location sunk: Bremerhaven
Position sunk: in Harbor

Not much history exists on this 'dugout canoe' as she was never a FRONTBOOT; she was a SCHULBOOT from the beginning, so U-120 never attacked a ship.

She was initially being built for the Royal Yugoslavian Navy when the war broke out & she was 'acquired' by the KRIEGSMARINE and because she was being built for another Navy initially, her conning tower was not like from the design of other TYPE II-B boats. In fact, it was more like that of a TYPE II-D.

Some of the Skippers who trained on U-120 included Heyda, who went on to become Skipper of U-434 only to be captured on the first Feindfahrt (war patrol); Sauerbier who went on to U-251; and Kplt Hans Fiedler who was considered by some, as the 'unluckiest guy in the Navy'.

He was Skipper of U-564 until 10 Squadron, RAF sank the boat on 14 June, 1943. 29 men were lost, but Fiedler survived and was rescued by friendly forces.

Fiedler put U-998 into commission, but it was depth-charged and badly damaged by 333 Norge Squadron, RAF. U-998 was scuttled by her own crew due to the damage.

An ironic twist of fate, Fiedler's luck ran out when he was given command of one of the luckiest boats in the U-Bootwaffe, U-333 which was once the boat of 'ALI' CREMER (114-+-1985). When the ROYAL NAVY hunters HMS STARLING and HMS LOCH KILLIN sank the 'boat of the three little fishes' Fiedler and the entire crew rode her down.

Under her final Skipper, Oblt. Rolf-Rüdiger Bensel, U-120 was scuttled by her own crew at the end of the War in the area of Bremerhaven Sometime between 1947 and 1953, U-120 was raised by the Allies and broken up for scrap.

U-121

Type: II-B
Built by: Flenderwerft (Lübeck)
Launched: 20 April, 1940
Commissioned: 20 April, 1040
Feldpost Nr.: M01240
Date sunk: 2 May, 1945
Sunk by: Scuttled by crew
Location sunk: Weser River estuary
Position sunk: in Harbor

This was the other TYPE II-B that was initially being built for the Royal Yugoslavian Navy when 'acquired' by the Kriegsmarine. Like U-120, the conning tower on U-121 was more like the II-D (see inset) rather than the II-B boats.

U-121 was never a frontboot but was assigned as a schulboot with the 21st U-Bootflotille in Pillau. Several Skippers trained aboard her and as the Russians closed in from the east, U-121 and other boats made their way west and this boat ultimately ended up in the mouth of the Weser River where the crew scuttled her.

Sometime between 1947 and 1953, the Allies raised U-121 and broke her up for scrap.

U-122

Type: IX-B
Built by: AG Weser (Bremen)
Launched: 12 December, 1939
Commissioned: 30 March, 1940
Feldpost Nr.: M12650
Sunk: 1 July, 1940 *
Sunk by: HMS VANSITTART *
Location sunk: North Sea *
Position sunk: 48.33N x 10.26W *
(all hands lost)

The only Skipper of U-122 was KorvettenKapitän Hans-Günther Looff. The boat had a mission in May of 1940 to Trondheim, transporting supplies. Her first and only patrol was into the North Atlantic, during which she was lost with all hands.

SHIPS SUNK BY U-122
20.06.40 EMPIRE CONVEYER Brit stmr 5,911 GRT

* Some sources state that U-122 was sunk immediately after sinking this ship on 20 June rather than on 1 July, as U-122 did not report to OKM by radio after 20 June and did not report sinking EMPIRE CONVEYOR. Precise data about the loss of U-122 is still unclear and probably will remain so.