German submarine U - 432 German submarine " U - 432 " was a Type VIIC U - boat of the German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . She carried out eight patrols . She sank 20 ships and one warship . Two ships were damaged . She was a member of seven wolfpack s . She was sunk by a French warship in mid - Atlantic , in March 1943 . Service history . The submarine was laid down on 14 January 1940 at " F . Schicau GmbH " in Danzig ( now Gdansk ) as ' werk ' 1473 , launched on 3 February 1941 and commissioned on 26 April 1941 under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Heinz - Otto Schultze . She served with the 3rd U - boat Flotilla from 26 April 1941 for training and stayed with that organization from 1 August for operations until her loss . 1st patrol . " U - 432 " s first patrol was preceded by short ' hops ' from Kiel in Germany to Horten then Trondheim in Norway . Her first patrol proper began with her departure from Trondheim on 25 August 1941 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the ' gap ' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands . The boat sank the " Winterwijk " on 10 September east of Greenland . She went on to sink the " Stargad " close - by on the same date . The next day she sank the " Garm " northeast of the previous successes . She docked at Brest in occupied France on 19 September . 2nd and 3rd patrols . On her second foray , she sank the " Ulea " on 28 October 1941 east - northeast of the Azores . She finished the patrol in St . Nazaire on 2 November 1941 . The boat ' s third sortie commenced with her departure from St . Nazaire on 10 December 1941 . This was not only the shortest patrol of her career but the only time she returned to France , ( this time to La Pallice where she would be based for the rest of her time ) , without success , on the 23rd . 4th patrol . Her fourth patrol was carried out on the eastern seaboard of Canada and the United States , where she sank a number of ships , including the - then neutral Brazilian vessels " Buarque " and the " Olinda " on 15 and 18 February 1942 respectively . She also sent the " Miraflores " and the " Azolea City " to the bottom on the 19th and 21st . 5th patrol . " U - 432 " had departed La Pallice on 30 April 1942 . On 2 May , she was slightly damaged in an air attack on 2 May west of the Bay of Biscay . She returned to her earlier hunting grounds across the Atlantic where she sank ships such as the " Zurichmoor " ( on the 23rd ) and the " Malayan Prince " on 9 June . 6th patrol . The submarine encountered some resistance when she came across the " Pennmar " off Cape Farewell ( Greenland ) on 24 September 1942 . A torpedo fired from the starboard quarter was avoided by evasive action . On surfacing , the U - boat was engaged by " Pennmar " s 4 in gun . " U - 432 " submerged again and fired a spread of four torpedoes , one of which hit and sank the American ship . 7th patrol . For her seventh effort , the boat headed towards Africa . She sank the " Poitou " off Morocco on 17 December 1942 . 8th patrol and loss . " U - 432 " sank HMS " Harvester " on 11 March 1943 after the British destroyer was badly damaged while ramming " U - 444 " . The French Corvette " Aconit " came to " Harvester " s assistance . She depth charge d and sank the U - boat in mid - Atlantic . Twenty - six men went down with " U - 432 " ; there were 20 survivors .