German submarine U - 380 German submarine " U - 380 " was a Type VIIC U - boat built for the Nazi German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II . Her wartime career consisted of 11 patrols and resulted in two ships sunk for 14 , 063 GRT , one ship damaged , and another of 7 , 178 GRT that was later declared a total loss . Construction and Design . Construction . " U - 380 " was ordered by the " Kriegsmarine " on 16 October 1939 . She was laid down just short of a year later at the Howaldtswerke yard in Kiel , on 1 October 1940 . About thirteen months later , " U - 380 " was launched in Kiel on 5 November 1941 . She was formally commissioned into the " Kriegsmarine " later that year , on 22 December . Design . Like all type VIIC submarines , " U - 380 " carried five torpedo tube s ( four located in the bow , one in the stern ) and had one C35 88mm / L45 deck gun with 220 rounds . She could also carry 14 G7e torpedo es or 26 TMA mines and had a crew of 44 - 52 men . Her propulsion consisted of two supercharged Germaniawerft 6 - cylinder 4 - stroke M6V 40 / 46 diesel engines that had a total of . Her maximum rpm was between 470 and 490 . She was also equipped with two electric motors totalling and had a maximum rpm of 296 . This power - train enabled " U - 380 " to achieve a maximum speed of while on the surface and when submerged . She had a range of at when she was surfaced and at while submerged . Her test depth was ; while her crush depth was . Service History . " U - 380 " experienced her first taste of war on her first patrol . While stalking convoy ON - 127 on 12 September 1942 in the central Atlantic , the submarine was detected and attacked by the convoy ' s escorts resulting in the failure of one of her diesel engines . The damage was not severe enough to warrant aborting the patrol , but the U - boat broke off her attack . Her first strike against allied shipping would come less than a week later when she torpedoed and sank the unescorted Norwegian motor merchant " Olaf Fostenes " ( 2 , 994 GRT ) . All 36 men aboard the merchant survived this attack . The U - boat crew questioned the crew , asking for the ship ' s master ; the mariners lied to the Germans , telling them the master had been killed in the attack . " U - 380 " returned to port on 7 October 1942 . Her next patrol , which lasted only 15 days , was still successful . On 11 November 1942 , " U - 380 " torpedoed and sank the 11 , 069 GRT Dutch passenger liner " Nieuw Zeeland " . The ship had recently participated in the North African landings of Operation Torch and was returning from that operation . 15 of the 256 souls aboard perished ; the remainder were picked up by convoy escorts and later landed at Gibraltar . Two uneventful patrols followed . It was not until 15 March 1943 , while on her fifth patrol , that the U - boat had her next success . The British Liberty Ship " Ocean Seaman " , traveling with convoy ET - 14 , was torpedoed and badly damaged . Dead in the water , the stricken vessel was taken in tow and beached the next day near Algiers . She was declared a total loss . On 10 May 1943 , " U - 380 " rescued five German soldiers who were escaping from Tunisia in a small boat . She landed them at La Spezia on 16 May . A further two uneventful Mediterranean sorties followed . The veteran submarine departed on her eighth patrol on 11 August 1943 , again prowling the Mediterranean for enemy shipping . Success arrived on 23 August when the 7 , 191 GRT American Liberty Ship " Pierre Soulé " was struck in the rudder by a single torpedo from " U - 380 " . The resulting explosion bodily lifted the ship out of the water . Although her rudder was destroyed and the engines and propeller shaft badly damaged , the stricken merchantman was taken in tow by the to Bizerte . She was repaired in dry dock at Taranto and returned to service . Despite undertaking three further patrols , " U - 380 " had no further successes during her career . Loss . On 11 March 1943 , while in the harbor at Toulon , " U - 380 " along with " U - 410 " were sunk by US bombs during an air raid . One man of the crew , Maschinenmaat Jonny Christoph , was killed aboard " U - 380 " .