German submarine U - 177 German submarine " U - 177 " was a Type IXD2 U - boat of the German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . The submarine was laid down on 25 November 1940 at the AG Weser yard in Bremen as ' werk ' 1017 . She was launched on 1 October 1941 and commissioned on 14 March 1942 under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Wilhelm Schulze . After a period of training with the 4th U - boat Flotilla at Stettin , the boat was transferred to the 10th flotilla on 1 October 1942 and based at Lorient for front - line service , she was then reassigned to the 12th flotilla at Bordeaux on 1 December . She sank 14 ships of and damaged one other of 2 , 588 GRT , but was herself sunk in February 1944 in the Atlantic west of Ascension Island by a US Navy aircraft . Operational history . 1st patrol . Under the command of " Kptlt . " Robert Gysae , " U - 177 " left Kiel on 17 September 1942 and sailed north around the British Isles . On 23 September the U - boat was bombed by a twin - engined aircraft southeast of Iceland , but crash - dived and sustained no damage . She then headed south to the waters off South Africa and Mozambique . There she sank eight ships totalling 49 , 371 tons and damaged another of 2 , 588 tons : She had her first success on 2 November , sinking the unescorted 4 , 538 ton Greek merchant steamer " Aegeus " off Cape Columbine . There were no survivors . On 9 November the U - boat attacked and damaged the unescorted 2 , 588 ton British oil tanker " Cerion " south of Port Elizabeth with her 37 mm and 20 mm AA guns , after her deck gun malfunctioned , and several attacks with torpedo es failed . The 7 , 006 ton British tanker " Scottish Chief " was the next victim on 19 November ; she was loaded with 13 , 000 tons of fuel oil , and was torpedoed by " U - 177 " about 200 miles east southeast of Durban . The ship exploded and sank in flames , with only 12 of the crew of 48 surviving . The unescorted 7 , 191 ton Liberty ship " Pierce Butler " was hit by two torpedoes from " U - 177 " on 20 November . The ship ' s armed guards opened fire with her five - and three - inch guns , while the engines were secured ; subsequently the eight officers , 33 crewmen and 21 armed guards abandoned ship in four lifeboats . Within half an hour the ship sank . The " Pierce Butler " third mate was questioned by officers from " U - 177 " who offered to send a distress signal if none had been sent . It had , and the crew were picked up about 20 hours later by . " U - 177 " next sank the unescorted 6 , 796 ton British troop transport southeast of Lourenço Marques on the 28th . The ship was carrying mail , passengers and 780 Italian prisoners of war and civilian internees from Port Tewfik , Massawa and Aden to Durban . Hit by three torpedoes , she sank within ten minutes . The U - boat picked up two survivors to identify the ship , who turned out to be Italian merchant sailors . Mindful of the Laconia Order issued two months previously , Gysae radioed the BdU ( U - boat headquarters ) and was ordered to continue his patrol while they notified the Portuguese authorities , who sent the frigate NRP " Afonso de Albuquerque " to help . The frigate rescued only 194 survivors . From the 1 , 052 aboard , 858 were lost , including 650 Italians . On 30 November she sank the unescorted 10 , 799 ton British troop transport " Llandaff Castle " with two torpedoes southeast of Lourenço Marques . The former Union - Castle Line passenger ship had 150 passengers on board , including six Soviet diplomats with their wives and children and 70 military officers with their families . Three crew members were lost . The survivors were later rescued by . " U - 177 " torpedoed the unescorted 3 , 548 ton Greek merchant ship " Saronikos " off Mozambique on 7 December , which broke in half and sank within two minutes . The Germans questioned the only two survivors from the crew of 38 , and provided them with bandages and provisions . The boat torpedoed the unescorted 6 , 408 ton British merchant ship " Empire Gull " on 12 December in the Mozambique Channel , allowing the crew to abandon ship before opening fire with her deck gun , firing 70 incendiary and 100 high - explosive rounds , and scoring about 140 hits , which finally caused the ship to sink . Two crew members were lost in the attack , the master and 43 crewmen were later rescued up by and . On 14 December the U - boat sank the 3 , 085 ton Dutch merchant ship " Sawahloento " with her last torpedo , her destruction took seven minutes . The crew of 72 men abandoned ship in four lifeboats , three of which capsized when the boiler exploded , drowning most of the occupants . The 19 survivors in the last lifeboat were questioned , and then set sail towards the coast of South Africa , arriving two days later . " U - 177 " then headed for France , arriving in Bordeaux on 22 January 1943 after a voyage of 128 days . 2nd patrol . " U - 177 " left Bordeaux on 1 April 1943 for her second patrol around the Cape of Good Hope where she sank six ships totalling 38 , 017 tons . She attacked Convoy CD - 20 on 27 May with a salvo of four torpedoes , hitting the 6 , 679 ton American merchant ship " Agwimonte " and the 7 , 886 ton Norwegian tanker " Storaas " . Both ships were abandoned by their crews and were sunk with further torpedoes from " U - 177 " . On 6 July the unescorted 7 , 129 ton Canadian merchant ship " Jasper Park " was hit by two torpedoes from " U - 177 " south southwest of Cap Sainte Marie , the extreme southern point of Madagascar . The U - boat fired another torpedo which either missed or was a dud , so she surfaced to sink the vessel with gunfire , but as she did so her target sank . On 10 July 1943 " U - 177 " struck the unescorted 7 , 176 ton American Liberty ship " Alice F . Palmer " with a single torpedo in the stern , blowing off the propeller and rudder , flooding the engine room , and breaking the back of the ship . The crew of 68 abandoned their vessel in four lifeboats , and after questioning them , " U - 177 " shelled the ship , firing 14 incendiary and 85 high - explosive rounds . The burning ship slowly sank . The four lifeboats eventually sailed to Madagascar . The 4 , 952 ton British collier " Cornish City " was torpedoed and sunk on 29 July , southeast of Madagascar . The ship sank within a minute with the loss of 37 of her crew of 43 . The survivors were questioned by the Germans and later picked up by . The U - boat successfully attacked the unescorted 4 , 195 ton Greek merchant ship " Efthalia Mari " east of Madagascar on 5 August , after spotting her using a Fa 330 " Bachstelze " rotor kite . Hit by two torpedoes , the ship sank in eight minutes . " U - 177 " was one of only a few U - boats equipped with the aerial observation platform , and the only one to have successfully used it . The submarine returned to Bordeaux on 1 October 1943 after 184 days at sea . 3rd patrol and loss . Under the command of " Korvettenkapitän " Heinz Buchholz , " U - 177 " sailed from La Pallice ( where she had docked on 26 December 1943 ) , on 2 January 1944 and once again headed south . On the 36th day of the patrol , on 6 February , she was sunk in the Atlantic west of Ascension Island , in position , by depth charge s dropped by a B - 24 Liberator aircraft from US Navy Squadron VB - 107 . 50 men were lost ; 15 survived , they were picked up by .