On 6 April 1941, the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Hungary invaded Yugoslavia in response to the Yugoslav coup d'état of 27 March, which had resulted in the overthrow of the regency led by Prince Paul and King Peter II's accession to the throne. Around 3:00 a.m. on the morning of 12 April, "Drava" encountered the ruined railway bridge at Bogojevo, which prevented it from navigating further along the Danube, and anchored nearby. By 5:00 a.m., the obstruction had been cleared, and "Drava" continued sailing. While "Drava" had been anchored, seven crew members deserted their posts, commandeered the ship's motorboat and headed for Erdut. At 7:30 a.m., "Drava" came under attack from nine "Luftwaffe" Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bombers of "Sturzkampfgeschwader" 77 flying from Arad, Romania. "Drava"s anti-aircraft gunners managed to shoot down three of the incoming aircraft. However, the monitor's anti-aircraft gunners were unable to overcome a second and third wave of attacks. Five bombs struck "Drava", largely destroying the ship and killing most of her crew. A sixth bomb fell directly down her funnel and exploded in her engine room.