German submarine U-130 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard, Bremen as yard number 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 in six patrols. She also damaged one ship of . She was a member of three wolfpacks.
German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-131 had a displacement of 1120t when at the surface and 1232t while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of 76.76m (251.84feet), a pressure hull length of 58.75m (192.75feet), a beam of 6.76m (22.18feet), a height of 9.6m (31.5feet), and a draught of 4.7m (15.4feet). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4400PS for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1000PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92abbr=onNaNabbr=on 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-131 was fitted with six 53.30NaN0 torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.52NaN2 SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7sp=usNaNsp=us SK C/30 as well as a 2sp=usNaNsp=us C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.
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 Kurdistan northwest of Northern Ireland on the tenth 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 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.
U-130s 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 Grenanger on 11 April 1942 and Esso Boston a day later.
The boat's fourth sortie also brought success, this time near the Cape Verde islands. Among others, she sank Tankexpress, Elmwood and 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, and . The boat then headed off into the Atlantic, north of the Azores.
Her last patrol was not without success; she sank Trefusis, Fidra, and Ger-y-Bryn, all on 5 March 1943.
She was sunk on 12 March 1943 by depth charges from the American destroyer west of the Azores. 53 men died. There were no survivors.
U-130 took part in three wolfpacks, namely:
| - | Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[1] | Fate[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 December 1941 | Kirnwood |  United Kingdom | 3,829 | Sunk | |
| 10 December 1941 | Kurdistan | United Kingdom | 5,844 | Sunk | |
| 10 December 1941 | Star of Luxor |  Egypt | 5,298 | Sunk | |
| 13 January 1942 | Friar Rock |  Panama | 5,427 | Sunk | |
| 13 January 1942 | Frisco |  Norway | 1,582 | Sunk | |
| 21 January 1942 | Alexander Høegh | Norway | 8,248 | Sunk | |
| 25 January 1942 | Varanger | Norway | 9,305 | Sunk | |
| 27 January 1942 | Francis E. Powell |  United States | 7,096 | Sunk | |
| 27 January 1942 | Halo | United States | 6,986 | Damaged | |
| 11 April 1942 | Grenanger | Norway | 5,393 | Sunk | |
| 11 April 1942 | Esso Boston | United States | 7,699 | Sunk | |
| 25 July 1942 | Tankexpress | Norway | 10,095 | Sunk | |
| 27 July 1942 | Elmwood | Norway | 7,167 | Sunk | |
| 30 July 1942 | Danmark | United Kingdom | 8,391 | Sunk | |
| 9 August 1942 | Malmanger | Norway | 7,078 | Sunk | |
| 11 August 1942 | Mirlo | Norway | 7,455 | Sunk | |
| 25 August 1942 | Viking Star | United Kingdom | 6,445 | Sunk | |
| 26 August 1942 | Beechwood | United Kingdom | 4,897 | Sunk | |
| 12 November 1942 | 9,360 | Sunk | |||
| 12 November 1942 | 12,479 | Sunk | |||
| 12 November 1942 | 12,568 | Sunk | |||
| 5 March 1943 | Empire Tower | United Kingdom | 4,378 | Sunk | |
| 5 March 1943 | Fidra | United Kingdom | 1,574 | Sunk | |
| 5 March 1943 | Ger-y-Bryn | United Kingdom | 5,108 | Sunk | |
| 5 March 1943 | Trefusis | United Kingdom | 5,299 | Sunk |