German submarine U-106 (1940)

A Type IXB submarine, believed to be U-106, under attack by a Sunderland flying boat
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-106
Ordered	24 May 1938
Builder	DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number	969
Laid down	26 November 1939
Launched	17 June 1940
Commissioned	24 September 1940
Homeport	Lorient, France
Fate	Sunk, 2 August 1943, northwest of Spain, by British and Australian aircraft[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IXB submarine
Displacement	1,051 t (1,034 long tons) surfaced 1,178 t (1,159 long tons) submerged
Length	76.50 m (251 ft) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Draught	4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Speed	18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range	12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record
Part of:	2nd U-boat Flotilla 24 September 1940 – 2 August 1943
Identification codes:	M 34 486
Commanders:	Kptlt. Jürgen Oesten 24 September 1940 – 19 October 1941 Kptlt. Hermann Rasch 20 October 1941 – April 1943 Oblt.z.S. Wolf-Dietrich Damerow 20 June – 2 August 1943
Operations:	10 patrols: 1st patrol: 4 January – 10 February 1941 2nd patrol: 26 February – 17 June 1941 3rd patrol: 11 August – 11 September 1941 4th patrol: 21 October – 22 November 1941 5th patrol: 3 January – 22 February 1942 6th patrol: 15 April – 29 June 1942 7th patrol: 25 – 29 July 1942 8th patrol: 22 September – 26 December 1942 9th patrol: 17 February – 4 April 1943 10th patrol: 28 July – 2 August 1943
Victories:	22 merchant ships sunk (138,581 GRT) 2 merchant ships damaged (12,634 GRT) 1 warship damaged (31,100 tons) 1 auxiliary warship damaged (8,246 GRT)

German submarine U-106 was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. She was laid down on 26 November 1939 at DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen as yard number 969, launched on 17 June 1940 and commissioned on 24 September. She was armed with six torpedo tubes and a 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun. U-106 was assigned to the 2nd U-boat Flotilla on 24 September 1940, in which she would serve for nearly three years.

U-106 was one of the most successful German submarines of World War II. She completed 10 wartime patrols and sank 22 ships totalling 138,581 gross register tons (GRT). She also damaged two ships totalling 12,634 GRT, one auxiliary warship of 8,246 GRT and the battleship HMS Malaya. U-106 helped to catalyze Mexico's entry into World War II on the side of the Allies by sinking one of two oil tankers; the Faja de Oro. (The other was the Potrero del Llano, sunk by U-564).