German submarine U - 94 ( 1940 ) German submarine " U - 94 " was a Type VIIC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . She was laid down on 9 September 1939 at the F . Krupp " Germaniawerft " in Kiel as ' werk ' 599 , launched on 12 June 1940 and commissioned on 10 August 1940 under " Kapitänleutnant " Herbert Kuppisch . She sank 26 ships of 141 , 852 GRT in ten patrols and was a member of six wolfpack s but was herself sunk by a US aircraft and a Canadian warship in August 1942 . Operational career . 1st patrol . The boat left Kiel on 20 November 1940 , heading for Lorient in France which she reached , via the North Sea on 31 December . On the way , she sank the " Stirlingshire " on 2 December , northwest of the Bloody Foreland , ( a northwesterly point of the Irish mainland ) . She also sent the " Wilhelmina " and the " Empire Statesman " to the bottom on the 2nd and the 11th respectively . After that , the boat headed for mid - ocean before docking at her French Atlantic base . 2nd and 3rd patrols . " U - 94 " returned to the Atlantic west of Ireland and Scotland for her second patrol . She sank three more ships ; the " Florian " on 20 January 1941 , the " West Wales " on the 29th and the " Rushpool " on the 30th . For her third sortie , the boat moved into the waters west of Iceland . She sank the " Harbledown " on 4 April 1941 and the " Lincoln Ellsworth " on the 6th . The latter ship was destroyed by a combination of torpedo and fire from the deck gun . 4th and 5th patrols . " U - 94 " was attacked by the escorts of convoy OB - 318 on 7 May 1941 . Some 98 depth charge s over four hours were dropped . The boat persisted with her attack , however , sinking the " Eastern Star " and the " Ixion " . Two more merchantmen met their end on the 20th : the " Norman Monarch " and the " John P . Pedersen " . Patrol number five was carried out west of the Canary Islands ; it was relatively uneventful . 6th patrol . Having left St . Nazaire on 2 September 1941 , " U - 94 " operated southeast of Cape Farewell ( Greenland ) . She sank the " Newbury " , the " Pegasus " and the " Empire Eland " , all on the 15th . On 1 October , she fired five torpedoes at the " San Florentino " . Three of them struck home ; the ship broke in two after the third impact . The bow section remained afloat and was engaged by the U - boat ' s deck gun , it was eventually finished off by HMCS " Alberini " . The boat returned to Kiel on 15 October . 7th patrol . " U - 94 " departed Kiel on 12 January 1942 ; she negotiated the ' gap ' between the Faroe and Shetland Islands , docking once more at St . Nazaire on the 30th . 8th patrol . The U - boat continued her successes on the western side of the Atlantic . She sank the " Empire Hail " east of St . Johns , Newfoundland on 24 February 1942 . Following the coast - line to the south , her next victim was the " Cayrú " , about from New York on 9 March . She also sank the " Hvoslef " two miles east of Fenwick Island , off Delaware Bay on the 11th . 9th patrol . " U - 94 " left St . Nazaire on 4 May 1942 for what would be her top - scoring patrol , ( it was to be carried out once more south of Greenland ) . Moving into this area , a steady stream of sinkings resulted ; the " Cocle " on 12 May , the " Batna " and the " Tolken " , both on the 13th - a sailing ship , the " Maria da Glória " on 5 June ; the " Ramsay " and the " Empire Cloud " on the 10th . Her last kill was the " Pontypridd " , on the following day . 10th patrol and loss . The boat left St . Nazaire for the last time for the Caribbean on 3 August 1942 . Off Haiti on the 28th , she was sunk by depth charges dropped by a US PBY Catalina and ramming by the Canadian corvette HMCS " Oakville " . Nineteen men died with the U - boat ; there were twenty - six survivors . Summary of raiding history . * Sailing vessel