German submarine U - 510 German submarine " U - 510 " was a Type IXC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II , which later served in the French Navy . The submarine was laid down on 1 November 1940 at the Deutsche Werft yard at Hamburg as ' werk ' 306 , launched on 4 September 1941 , and commissioned on 25 November 1941 under the command of " Korvettenkapitän " Karl Neitzel . After training with the 4th U - boat Flotilla at Stettin , " U - 510 " was transferred to the 10th U - boat Flotilla based at Lorient in occupied France , for front - line service on 1 August 1942 . " Kapitänleutnant " Alfred Eick took command of the U - boat on 22 May 1943 , and she was transferred to the 33rd flotilla on 1 October 1944 while operating in Southeast Asia n waters . During her seven war patrols the U - boat sank fifteen ships totalling and damaged eight , totalling . The U - boat was captured by American forces at Saint - Nazaire on 10 May 1945 . Renamed Bouan she served in the French Navy from 1947 until struck on 1 May 1959 . The submarine was broken up in 1960 . Service history . 1st patrol . " U - 510 " departed Kiel on 7 July 1942 , negotiated the gap between Iceland and the Faeroe Islands and sailed across the Atlantic to the northern coast of South America . There she attacked three ships and sank the 5 , 285 ton Uruguayan merchant ship " Maldonado " on 2 August . She also damaged the 8 , 016 ton British tanker on 10 August , and sank the 4 , 971 ton British merchant ship " Cressington Court " on 19 August . The U - boat docked at Lorient on 13 September . 2nd patrol . " U - 510 " departed Lorient on 14 October 1942 and patrolled the waters west of the Canary Islands . On 31 October she torpedoed and damaged the 5 , 681 ton Norwegian merchant ship " Alaska " of Convoy SL 125 while the ship was rescuing men from the troopship " Président Doumer " , which had been sunk by . After " Operation Torch " began on 8 November , The boat was ordered to patrol the coast of Morocco , but was bombed by an unidentified aircraft , causing a serious oil leak . She returned to Lorient on 12 December . 3rd patrol . The U - boat sailed from Lorient once more on 16 January 1943 and headed across the Atlantic to the northern coast of South America . On 9 March at 03 : 00 , " U - 510 " attacked Convoy BT - 6 about 200 miles north - east of Paramaribo , Dutch Guiana , sinking the 3 , 872 ton British merchant ship " Kelvinbank " , and damaging the 7 , 176 ton American Liberty ship s " George G . Meade " , " Tabitha Brown " and " Joseph Rodman Drake " . She attacked the same convoy again three hours later and this time damaged the Liberty ships " Mark Hanna " , " James Smith " , " Thomas Ruffin " and " James K . Polk " , the latter two so badly that they were later declared total losses . The U - boat returned to Lorient on 16 April . 4th patrol . Now under the command of " Oberleutnant zur See " Alfred Eick , " U - 510 " sailed from Lorient on 3 June 1943 and once again headed for the northern South American coast . On 8 July she made a series of attacks on Convoy TJ - 1 , sinking the 10 , 324 ton Norwegian tanker " B . P . Newton " and the 6 , 900 ton American merchant ship " Eldena " , and damaging the 3 , 702 ton Latvian merchant ship " Everagra " . Two days later , on 10 May , she sank the 1 , 641 ton Swedish merchant ship " Scandinavia " . The U - boat returned to Lorient on 29 August . 5th patrol . " U - 510 " left Lorient on 3 November 1943 , sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean to operate off the Arabian Peninsula . On 22 February 1944 , she made two attacks on Convoy PA - 69 about 200 miles off Aden , sinking the 9 , 181 ton American tanker " E . G . Seubert " and the 7 , 385 ton British tanker " San Alvaro " ; she also damaged the 9 , 970 ton Norwegian tanker " Erling Brøvig " . The U - boat then shaped a course for Penang in Malaya ( now Malaysia ) , making three more attacks en route . On 7 March she torpedoed and sank the unescorted 7 , 229 ton Norwegian merchant ship " Tarifa " about 250 miles east of Socotra in the Indian Ocean . On 19 March she sank the American 7 , 176 ton Liberty ship " John A . Poor " in the Arabian Sea , and on 27 March the 249 ton British naval trawler HMS " Maaløy " ( J136 ) off Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka ) , killing Prince Hassan Farid Didi , the son of HRH Abdul Majeed Didi , Sultan Elect of the Maldives , who was aboard as a passenger . Prince Hassan was Minister of the Interior and " de facto " head of the Government of the Sultanate of the Maldives . " U - 510 " arrived at Penang on 5 April after a voyage of 155 days , her longest patrol . 6th patrol . Operating as part of the " Monsun Gruppe " the U - boat sailed to Singapore , then to Kobe , Japan , before returning to Batavia ( now Jakarta ) . From there , on 26 November 1944 , she sailed on her only combat patrol , returning to Batavia on 3 December having had no successes . 7th patrol . " U - 510 " left Batavia on 11 January 1945 for the voyage back to Europe . On 23 February she sank the unescorted 7 , 136 ton Canadian merchant ship " SS Point Pleasant Park " about 500 miles north - west of Cape Town . The U - boat arrived at Saint - Nazaire , in France , on 23 April after 103 days at sea . Post war . " U - 510 " was captured by American forces at Saint - Nazaire on 10 May 1945 . Awarded to the French in 1946 , she was commissioned into the French Navy , and renamed " Bouan " ( S . 612 ) on 24 June 1947 . She served until struck on 1 May 1959 , renamed hull " Q . 176 " on 23 November 1959 , and was broken up in 1960 .