German submarine U - 85 ( 1941 ) German submarine " U - 85 " was a Type VIIB U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . She was laid down at the Flender Werke in Lübeck on 18 December 1939 as ' werk ' 281 . Launched on 10 April 1941 , she was commissioned on 7 June and assigned to the 3rd U - boat Flotilla under the command of " Oberleutnant " Eberhard Greger . " U - 85 " completed four war patrols with the flotilla , and sank three ships , totalling . She was sunk in April 1942 by an American warship , the USS Roper . Operational career . 1st patrol . " U - 85 " departed Trondheim in Norway on 28 August 1941 for her first patrol . She sank the " Thistleglen " on 10 September northeast of Cape Farewell ( Greenland ) . The boat docked at St . Nazaire on the French Atlantic coast on 18 September . 2nd patrol . " U - 85 " s second patrol started and finished in Lorient but was unremarkable . 3rd patrol . On her third foray , she sank the " Empire Fusilier " southeast of St . Johns , Newfoundland , after a seven hour chase , on 9 February 1942 . Nine crew members were lost . 4th patrol and loss . Having left St . Nazaire on 21 March 1942 , the boat probably sank the " Chr . Knudson " on 10 April . " U - 85 " was herself sunk with all hands on 14 April off the United States coast near Cape Hatteras by gunfire from the American destroyer USS " Roper " . She was the first German U - boat loss of " Operation Drumbeat " ( " Paukenschlag " ) , Germany ' s U - boat offensive off the eastern seaboard of the United States in 1942 . Sinking . " U - 85 " was operating within visual distance of Bodie Island Light at midnight on 13 April 1942 when " Roper " detected the submarine on British Type 286 RADAR at a range of . The boat attempted to run south on the surface and fired her stern torpedo at " Roper " when the range closed to 700 yards . " Roper " evaded the torpedo and " U - 85 " turned sharply to starboard when the range closed to 300 yards . " Roper " illuminated the U - boat with her searchlight and observed men on deck near the gun whose firing arc had just been cleared by the course change . " Roper " raked " U - 85 " with machine gun fire and scored a hit with a 3 " / 50 caliber gun . She then dropped a pattern of 11 depth charge s where " U - 85 " had disappeared beneath the surface . Numerous men were observed in the water , but no rescue attempt was made until daylight . By then , there were no survivors among the 29 bodies floating in life jackets . Some of the bodies were wearing civilian clothes , carrying wallets with United States currency and identification cards . The bodies were fingerprinted , photographed and buried in a night - time military ceremony at the Hampton National Cemetery . " U - 85 " lies in less than of water ; the United States Navy briefly attempted to salvage her . More recent investigation by sport divers has raised questions about Navy reports on the wreck . Wreck . The hatch of " U - 85 " is on display in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum ; the submarine itself still serves as an attraction for divers . The Labrador current influences the site and visibility can be low . Majority of the debris lies within radius of the wreck . The Enigma machine was illegally recovered from the wreck by private divers and in 2003 the German government agreed to allow the machine to be displayed at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum , in Hatteras , North Carolina .