German submarine U - 515 German submarine " U - 515 " was a Type IXC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " built for service during World War II . She was commissioned in 1942 and sunk in 1944 . " U - 515 " completed six operational patrols and sank 23 ships , badly damaged two ships which later sank , and damaged two additional ships . Early history . " U - 515 " s keel was laid down on 8 May 1941 at Deutsche Werft AG in Hamburg , Germany . She was launched on 2 December 1941 , commissioned on 21 February 1942 under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Werner Henke , and attached to the 4th U - boat Flotilla for training . During this period , " U - 515 " conducted listening tests in early May , torpedo firing tests , and in early July tactical exercises with other U - boats . " U - 515 " served with the 4th Flotilla until 31 August 1942 . She then joined the 10th Flotilla for operations . First patrol . " U - 515 " left Stettin on 8 September 1942 stopping at Kiel to top - up with fuel . She left Kiel on 11 September for her first patrol , during which she sank nine ships , and damaged one other : " U - 515 " returned to her base at Lorient , in occupied France on 20 October . Second patrol . " U - 515 " left Lorient on 7 November for her second patrol . While moving along the African coast , on the night of 11 November , she attacked a British depot ship ( probably , which was attacked on 11 November and sank on the 12th ) , and was subsequently depth - charged by a British destroyer ( probably " HMS Venomous " ) . While sailing through the mid - Atlantic on 6 December , the U - boat spotted and sank the passenger ship . " U - 515 " patrolled the Azores for about a week , then returned to Lorient on 5 or 6 January 1943 . Third patrol . Minor repairs were carried out , and on 20 February 1943 , the U - boat left Lorient for her third patrol . She sank the British freighter , SS " California Star " about 335 miles northwest of the Azores on 4 March and on 9 March she sank a second ship , the French freighter " Bamako " off the west African coast . On 29 April the U - boat was attacked by Catalina flying - boats . " U - 515 " fired at the aircraft with her 20 mm anti - aircraft guns , but did not shoot any down . The aircraft did not cause any damage to her , she submerged after the attack . During a 12 - hour period on the night of 30 April and 1 May , " U - 515 " attacked convoy TS 37 off Freetown and sank seven ships : A few days after the attack on convoy TS 37 , " U - 515 " was re - supplied with fuel and torpedoes by . She continued on her patrol and on 9 May sank the Norwegian freighter " Cornville " with torpedoes . " U - 515 " completed her third sortie , returning to Lorient on 23 June . In recognition of a successful patrol , all crewmen were given long leaves and many awarded the Iron Cross , Second class . Fourth patrol . Extensive repairs and modifications were carried out at Lorient . The after part of the bridge was expanded and equipped with 20mm anti - aircraft cannon and a 37mm flak gun . She also carried four " T5 Zaunkönig " acoustic homing torpedoes . " U - 515 " left Lorient on 29 August to patrol the west coast of Africa . About one week in , she spotted a convoy off the Azores and started to attack ; however , she was detected by a convoy escort and badly damaged by depth charges , which forced her to return to base for repairs , reaching Lorient on 12 September . Fifth patrol . Repairs took six weeks and were completed by late October . On 1 November 1943 , " U - 515 " left Lorient , stopping at St . Nazaire to pick up two " T5 Zaunkönig " torpedo es , which were designed with either a magnetic or percussion fuze and which were faster and had a longer range than the G7e / T4 Falke torpedoes . " U - 515 " left St . Nazaire on 9 November and started patrolling off the Azores and Portuguese coast . On the morning of 18 November , she spotted a convoy , but was in turn spotted by aircraft . The U - boat submerged , but was detected by destroyers . These three ships depth - charged " U - 515 " for several hours and caused major damage . The main ballast tank and reserve oil tank were ruptured ; several batteries , the electronics , and the forward hydroplane motor were also damaged . " U - 515 " fired a " T - 5 " acoustic torpedo at one of the destroyers , , hitting her and causing damage beyond repair . Several more attacks were made and " U - 515 " had nearly run out of air when the attacks finally stopped , and she was able to surface . Despite extensive damage , the crew decided to make repairs at sea , which were completed on 22 November . " U - 515 " started to patrol the west coast of Africa and on 17 December , torpedoed and sank the British freighter " Kingswood " . Two days later she sank another ship , the British freighter " Phemus " . While returning to base , she sank the British freighter on 24 December . On 16 January 1944 " U - 515 " reached Lorient . Sixth and final patrol . Major repairs were carried out on " U - 515 " , including the installation of new batteries . Repairs were completed by late March and on the 30th , she left Lorient . On 8 April 1944 , " U - 515 " spotted a carrier - based aircraft and submerged ; an hour later she surfaced and was attacked by another aircraft . " U - 515 " engaged the machine with her 3 . 7 - cm anti - aircraft gun . The plane ' s bombs missed the U - boat and " U - 515 " failed to shoot down the aircraft . On 9 April " U - 515 " was attacked north of Madeira by the destroyers USS " Pope " , " Pillsbury " , " Chatelain " and " Flaherty " . Flooding and loss of depth control forced the U - Boat to the surface , where she was sunk by rockets fired from Avenger and Wildcat aircraft and gunfire from the destroyers . Sixteen of " U - 515 " s crew were killed , but 44 survived the attack . The survivors were picked up by the destroyers and later transferred to the aircraft carrier USS " Guadalcanal " . " U - 515 " s commander , Werner Henke , was among the survivors . Later in June 1944 , he was shot and killed trying to escape a secret interrogation center known as P . O . Box 1142 in Fort Hunt , Virginia , while being held as a prisoner of war . Tonnage sunk . During " U - 515 " s career , she sank 23 ships and damaged two others which later sank , plus damaging another two ships which did not sink . Of the 25 total ships sunk , 21 were freighters totaling ; two warships totaling ; one freighter , which later sank of ; and one warship which later sank for another 1 , 350 tons . " U - 515 " also damaged one freighter of and damaged one warship of 1 , 920 tons .