May 30, 1943 the Liberty ship Flora MacDonald was torpedoed by Oberleutnant zur See Siegfried Kietz and
his U-126. The ship burned but did not sink, she was towed to Freetown, Sierra Leone, her cargo salvaged and
she was left burning for days. The ship was a total loss.

U-126 was on her last patrol, but of course they did not know that at the time. Kietz had been appointed commanding officer on Mar. 1, 1943, it was his first command. The Flora MacDonald was the first ship he had ever torpedoed as a commander, and he would only fire at one other, the tanker Standella, this ship also failed to sink.

While returning to Germany his boat was found by a RAF Wellington and sunk on July 3, 1943 with depth charges off Spain. Although he failed to sink a single vessel, nine of those on board the Flora MacDonald died from their wounds. All fifty-five Germans died in the U-126.