German submarine U - 178 German submarine " U - 178 " was a Type IXD2 U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " built for service during World War II . Ordered on 28 May 1940 , the U - boat was laid down on 24 December 1940 at the AG Weser yard in Bremen as ' werk ' 1018 . She was launched on 25 October 1941 and commissioned on 14 February 1942 , under the command of " Fregattenkapitän " Hans Ibekken . 1st patrol . " U - 178 " sailed from Kiel on 8 September 1942 into the Atlantic , passing north of Scotland and then turned south . She made her first kill on 10 October , putting three torpedoes into the unescorted passenger ship " Duchess of Atholl " , a Canadian Pacific Steamship Co . liner chartered as a troop transport , about 200 miles east northeast of Ascension Island in the South Atlantic . The vessel sank slowly and only five crew members were lost . The master , 267 crew members , 25 gunners and all 534 passengers were later rescued by a British vessel . " U - 178 " then sailed around the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean south and east of South Africa , sinking the British troopship " Mendoza " on 1 November , killing the master , 19 crew members , three gunners and three passengers , while 127 of the crew , three gunners and 250 passengers were later picked up by a South African patrol ship and an American merchantman . " U - 178 " struck twice on 4 November , sinking both the British merchantman " Trekieve " and the Norwegian cargo ship " Hai Hing " , off Mozambique . The British merchant ship " Louise Moller " was sunk about 240 miles east by south of Durban on 13 November ; two days later the U - boat attacked the British merchant ship " Adviser " . Seeing the crew abandon the apparently sinking ship , " U - 178 " left the area after hearing depth charges being dropped in the distance . However , " Adviser " was taken in tow to Durban , where she was repaired and returned to service . " U - 178 " s last victory was on 27 November , sinking the American Liberty ship SS " Jeremiah Wadsworth " around 270 miles south of Cape Agulhas . " U - 178 " then shaped her course north through the Atlantic , arriving at Bordeaux in France on 10 January 1943 after 125 days at sea . 2nd patrol . Under a new commander , " Korvettenkapitän " Wilhelm Dommes , " U - 178 " sailed from Bordeaux on 28 March 1943 , and repeated the success of her previous patrol , this time in the waters of the Mozambique Channel . Her first victory came on 1 June in a hit - and - run attack on Convoy CD - 20 . " U - 178 " fired two torpedoes , one of which struck the Dutch cargo ship " Salabangka " , which later sank . On 4 July she attacked the Norwegian steamer " Breiviken " , a straggler from Convoy DN - 50 . The ship sank within three minutes ; " U - 178 " spent some time picking up the crew from the sea and putting them onto rafts . The survivors of " Breiviken " later found two drifting lifeboats from their own ship , and on 7 July reached the coast . " U - 178 " sailed off in pursuit of another victim , sinking the Greek merchant ship " Michael Livanos " later that day . On 11 July her sister ship " Mary Livanos " was also sunk by " U - 178 " . In the early hours of 14 July , the American Liberty ship " Robert Bacon " was torpedoed about 35 miles off the Mozambique Light . The crew of 44 and 27 Armed Guards ( the ship was armed with two 3 - inch and eight 20 mm guns ) , abandoned ship before " U - 178 " finished her off with two more torpedoes . The U - boat surfaced and questioned the survivors in one of the boats , giving them directions to land and wishing them good luck before leaving . " U - 178 " made her last kill on 17 July , sinking the British cargo ship " City of Canton " northeast of Beira after a pursuit lasting eighteen hours . She then shaped a course across the Indian Ocean to Penang , arriving there on 27 August after 153 days at sea . 3rd patrol . " KrvKpt . " Dommes remained at Penang , commanding the U - Boat base there , located in the former British seaplane headquarters . " U - 178 " sailed from Penang on 25 November 1943 with " Kapitänleutnant " Wilhelm Spahr in command . She made only one kill , sinking the American Liberty ship SS " José Navarro " 175 miles southwest of Cochin , India ( now known as Kochi ) . She then sailed around Africa , back through the Atlantic , arriving in Bordeaux on 25 May 1944 after a voyage of 181 days ( her longest ) . Fate . " U - 178 " was scuttled on 25 August 1944 at Bordeaux , as she was not deemed seaworthy enough to escape the Allied advance . The U - boat was broken up in 1947 .