German submarine U - 214 German submarine " U - 214 " was a Type VIID mine - laying U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . Laid down on 5 October 1940 by Germaniawerft in Kiel , the boat was commissioned on 1 November 1941 with " Kapitänleutnant " Günther Reeder in command . She trained with the 5th U - boat Flotilla from 1 November 1941 until 30 April 1942 , and was then assigned to the 9th U - boat Flotilla from 1 May 1942 . She was sunk on 26 July 1944 by a British warship . The wreck of " U - 214 " was found by the archaeologist Innes McCartney in 2006 at the location reported by the Allies after the war . Service history . 1st and 2nd patrol . " U - 214 " sailed from Kiel on 18 May 1942 , arriving at Kristiansand in Norway on the 20th . She sailed the next day , heading for Brest in France . On 22 May while in the North Sea , she was attacked by an aircraft , and slightly damaged by three bombs . The U - boat arrived at Lorient , also in France , on 2 June , and sailed to Brest the next day . Her second patrol began on 13 June , but on 16 June at 03 : 44 , she was strafed , three depth charges were also dropped by a Leigh light - equipped aircraft in the Bay of Biscay . A second attack was fought off with her flak defenses , but the U - boat sustained damage which forced her to return to Lorient on 17 June . 3rd patrol . Not until her third patrol did " U - 214 " score a victory . On 9 August 1942 she sailed from Brest , and on 18 August attacked Convoy SL - 118 , west of Portugal , sinking the 6 , 318 ton Dutch cargo ship " Balingkar " and the 7 , 522 ton British cargo ship " Hatarana " . She also damaged the armed merchant cruiser . She returned to Brest on 9 October after 62 days at sea . 4th and 5th patrols . " U - 214 " s fourth patrol took her to the Caribbean Sea where she attacked the 4 , 426 ton unescorted Polish merchant ship " Paderewski " with torpedoes off Trinidad , before sinking her with gunfire . The U - boat returned to her homeport on 24 February 1943 after a voyage of 87 days . " U - 214 " s fifth patrol was cut short when she was attacked on 7 May 1943 by a British Halifax bomber of 58 Squadron RAF in the Bay of Biscay , after only three days at sea . The U - boat crash - dived , suffering only minor damage , but her commander " Kptlt . " Günther Reeder was severely wounded , resulting in first Officer " Oberleutnant " Rupprecht Stock bringing the U - boat safely back to base . 6th patrol . Now under Stock ' s command , " U - 214 " sailed from Brest on 18 May 1943 , and headed for the coast of West Africa . There , on 20 June , the American 6 , 507 ton merchant ship " Santa Maria " struck a mine laid by " U - 214 " five miles ( eight km west of Dakar , blowing off her bows . After abandoning ship , she was later re - boarded by her crew and towed to Dakar for repairs . The U - boat arrived back at Brest on 26 June . 7th patrol . " U - 214 " s seventh patrol took her to the waters off Panama . While outbound on 9 September , south - west of Santa Maria , Azores , she was attacked by an American Avenger aircraft from the escort carrier . The aircraft approached by radar and dropped four depth charges , but was damaged in the air intake and the bomb bay by the U - boat ' s flak . One depth charge hit the U - boat , but bounced off and exploded without damaging her . On 8 October , five miles off Colón , " U - 214 " laid a field of 15 mines . One of these may have sunk the United States Navy submarine on or about 14 October . On 12 October , the boat was attacked twice , but not damaged , by an aircraft of US Navy Patrol Squadron 210 . " U - 214 " returned home on 30 November after 101 days at sea . 8th and 9th patrol . " U - 214 " s next patrol , from 19 February – 29 April 1944 , took her south to the west African coast , but without success . The U - boat was then fitted with a " schnorkel " before returning to active service . " U - 214 " headed north into the shallow waters of the English Channel on 11 June , under the command of the newly promoted " Kapitänleutnant " Stock , however she had no successes , and the patrol was curtailed after the U - boat was attacked by a British B - 24 Liberator of 224 Squadron , sustaining damage which forced her to return to Brest on 2 July . 10th patrol and loss . " U - 214 " sailed from Brest on 22 July 1944 under the command of 21 - year old " Oblt . " Gerhard Conrad , one of the youngest U - boat commanders of World War II . After only five days , on 26 July , the U - boat was sunk in the English Channel at by depth charge s from the . All 48 hands were lost . See also . List of U - boats