German submarine U - 185 German submarine " U - 185 " was a Type IXC / 40 U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " built for service during World War II . Under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " August Maus , she had some success against Allied aircraft in World War II . Laid down on 1 July 1941 by AG Weser of Bremen as ' werk ' 1025 , she was launched on 2 March 1942 and commissioned on 13 June . She suffered no casualties until her sinking by US carrier - borne aircraft on 24 August 1943 at . Twenty - nine of the crew were lost , as well as fourteen survivors from who were on board . Service history . 1st patrol . " U - 185 " sailed from Kiel on 27 October 1942 . On 7 December she sank the unescorted 5 , 476 ton British cargo ship " Peter Mærsk " west of the Azores . She docked at Lorient in France on 1 January 1943 after 67 days at sea . 2nd patrol . " U - 185 " sailed from Lorient on 8 February 1943 . On 10 March she attacked Convoy KG 123 in the Windward Passage ( between Cuba and Hispaniola ) , sinking the 6 , 151 ton American tanker " Virginia Sinclair " and the 7 , 177 ton liberty ship " James Sprunt " . On 6 April " U - 185 " attacked the four - ship convoy GTMO - 83 , and sank the 7 , 176 ton liberty ship " John Sevier " . She then sailed to Bordeaux on 3 May after 85 days at sea . 3rd patrol . " U - 185 " sailed on her third and final patrol from Bordeaux on 9 June 1943 . On 14 June she was attacked in the Bay of Biscay by a British Whitley bomber of 10 OTU ( Operational Training Unit ) based at RAF St Eval in Cornwall . was sunk , but " U - 185 " s flak defenses damaged the aircraft , forcing it to ditch . On 7 July " U - 185 " , off Cape San Roque , Brazil , attacked the convoy BT - 18 , sinking the liberty ships " James Robertson " and " Thomas Sinnickson " , the 7 , 061 ton tanker " William Boyce Thompson " also went to the bottom . She then badly damaged the 6 , 840 ton tanker " S . B . Hunt " . On 12 July , around 90 miles off Recife , Brazil , the U - boat was attacked by a B - 24 Liberator bomber of US Navy Squadron VB - 107 , but sustained only minor damage . The boat sank the 8 , 235 ton Brazilian cargo ship " Bagé " , a straggler from convoy TJ - 2 , off the Rio Real , Brazil , on 1 August and on the 6th she torpedoed and then sank with gunfire the unescorted 7 , 133 ton British cargo ship " Fort Halkett " about 600 miles southeast of Natal , Brazil . On 3 August " U - 185 " was attacked by a Ventura bomber of Squadron VB - 107 with depth charges , wounding one man . Sinking . On the morning of 11 August 1943 " U - 185 " rendezvoused with the stricken , which had been badly damaged after two attacks by US aircraft and the destroyer USS " Moffett " , but which began to transfer provisions , fuel oil and spare parts to " U - 185 " . arrived later to assist , but the concentration of U - boats was detected by HF / DF ; as a result , the surfaced boats were attacked by a United States Navy PBY - 4 Liberator , of Squadron VB - 107 . " U - 172 " escaped , the crew of " U - 185 " opened fire with AA guns , shooting down the aircraft , killing the crew of three . After " U - 604 " was scuttled , " U - 185 " headed for home , with 100 men crammed aboard a U - boat designed for 54 . On 16 August she transferred 23 men to " U - 172 " . Short of fuel , " U - 185 " was heading for a rendezvous with south - west of the Azores on the morning of 24 August . The U - boat was spotted by a TBF - 1 Avenger and F4F Wildcat attack team of Squadron VC - 13 , flying from the escort carrier . The aircraft attacked with machine guns and depth charge s , killing the U - boat ' s lookouts and AA crew and rupturing the pressure hull , allowing seawater to reach the battery cells and produce toxic chlorine gas . One diesel engine caught fire , producing more fumes , and to make matters worse all electrical systems were knocked out , plunging the vessel into darkness . Realizing that the situation was hopeless , Maus ordered all hands to abandon ship . More than 40 men managed to reach the deck and jump into the sea as " U - 185 " sank . Only 36 men were later rescued by the destroyer , the rest succumbing to wounds or chlorine poisoning . The 25 men from " U - 185 " and the nine survivors from " U - 604 " spent the following three years as POW s before returning to Germany . On 21 September 1943 " Kapitänleutnant " August Maus was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross .