German submarine U - 262 German submarine " U - 262 " was a Type VIIC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . The submarine was laid down on 29 May 1941 at the Bremer Vulkan yard at Bremen - Vegesack as ' werk ' 27 . She was launched on 10 March 1942 and commissioned on 15 April under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Günther Schiebusch . She was a member of nine wolf pack s , sinking three commercial ships and one warship . Service history . 1st and 2nd patrols . Having moved from Kiel in Germany to Bergen in Norway in September 1942 , " U - 262 " s first patrol was marked by an unsuccessful attack by two Lockheed Hudson s , but the damage inflicted was serious enough to warrant an early return to Bergen . Her second foray followed the Norwegian coast to Narvik but was otherwise uneventful . 3rd patrol . The U - boat sailed from Narvik on 5 November 1942 , now under the command of " Oberleutnant zur See " Heinz Franke , and headed out to the waters east of Newfoundland , sailing first west from Narvik then north , parallel to the eastern Greenland coast ; after that turning about , negotiating the Denmark Strait ( between Greenland and Iceland . On 18 November , as part of wolf pack " Kreuzotter " , she attacked the Convoy ONS - 144 , firing a spread of three torpedo es , one of which hit the Norwegian Flower class corvette , fatally damaging the vessel . The commander ordered the crew to abandon ship , " U - 262 " hit her with another torpedo , breaking the ship in two . She also sank the 7 , 178 ton British cargo ship " Ocean Crusader " , a straggler from Convoy HX - 216 northeast of St Johns on 26 November . " U - 262 " arrived at her new home port of La Pallice on the French Atlantic coast on 9 December 1942 . 4th patrol . The U - boat departed La Pallice on 16 January 1943 for a patrol out into the mid - Atlantic . On 6 February she fired five torpedoes at a tanker and a steamer , sinking the 2 , 864 ton Polish cargo ship " Zagloba " , east southeast of Cape Farewell ( Greenland ) , a straggler of Convoy SC 118 . There were no survivors . < br > " U - 262 " returned to La Pallice on 15 February . 5th patrol . " U - 262 " sailed again on 27 March 1943 and headed across the Atlantic to Prince Edward Island to pick up German POWs that were to escape from their camp in Operation " Elster " . On 15 April , while en route , she was shadowing Convoy HX - 233 , when the U - boat was attacked by depth charge s and gunfire from the convoy escorts , forcing her to break off the attack . The U - boat then completed her mission , but no escaped POWs showed up at the rendezvous . She returned to La Pallice on 25 May . 6th patrol . " U - 262 " left La Pallice next on 24 July 1943 , commanded by the newly promoted " Kapitänleutnant " Heinz Franke , and headed across the Atlantic . On 8 August " U - 262 " was waiting to refuel from while was being supplied , when an Avenger / Wildcat team from the aircraft carrier located the boats and attacked " U - 262 " . While attempting to drop depth charges , the Avenger was hit by flak and caught fire , but managed to drop two charges , severely damaging " U - 262 " , before ditching into the sea . The Wildcat was also shot down by " U - 262 " during a strafing run . The damage received forced the U - boat to abort her patrol , she returned home on 2 September . 7th patrol . The U - boat sailed on 14 October 1943 for the waters northeast of the Azores . There she was involved in attacks on three Allied convoys . On 31 October during the attack on SL 138 / MKS 28 , she sank the Norwegian 2 , 968 ton merchant ship " Hallfried " . Francke ' s actions in this patrol were marked by efficient shadowing and determined attacks , for which he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . " U - 262 " returned to La Pallice on 7 December . 8th and 9th patrol . Under a new commander , " Oblt . " Helmut Wieduwilt , " U - 262 " covered the area southwest of Iceland on 3 February 1944 , but had no success . She returned home on 29 April after 87 days at sea . " U - 262 " s next patrol was similarly uneventful , but lasted only 10 days from 6 – 15 June . She did not leave the Bay of Biscay . She returned to La Pallice to be fitted with a " Schnorchel " underwater - breathing apparatus . 10th patrol . After an air raid killed three and wounded one of her crew , the U - boat sailed from La Pallice on 23 August 1944 , north to the area south of Iceland , before heading east and south through the North Sea to Flensburg , arriving on 5 November after 75 days . Damage and disposal . While at Gotenhafen in December 1944 the U - boat was again damaged by bombing . Struck from the active list at Kiel on 2 April 1945 , she was broken up in 1947 .