German submarine U - 563 German submarine " U - 563 " was a Type VIIC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . She carried out eight patrols . She sank three ships , total 14 , 689 GRT ; and one warship of 1 , 870 tons . Two ships were damaged , totalling 16 , 266 GRT . She was a member of nine wolfpack s . She was sunk by Allied aircraft in the Bay of Biscay , in May 1943 . Service history . The submarine was laid down on 30 March 1940 at " Blohm & Voss " , Hamburg as ' werk ' 539 , launched on 5 February 1941 and commissioned on 27 March under the command of " Oberleutnant " Klaus Bargsten . She served with the 1st U - boat Flotilla from 27 March 1941 for training and stayed with that organization for operations . 1st patrol . " U - 432 " s first patrol was from Kiel in Germany , she headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the ' gap ' separating the Faroe and Shetland Islands . She arrived at Brest in occupied France , on 10 September 1941 . 2nd patrol . Having left Brest on 4 October 1941 , " U - 563 " was unsuccessfully attacked by a Bristol Blenheim a day later west of Brittany . She then sank the British destroyer HMS " Cossack " west of Gibraltar on 24 October 1941 , but was attacked by another British ship , the corvette HMS " Heliotrope " west of Cape St . Vincent on the 25th . Although forced to submerge , the boat did not sustain any damage . 3rd patrol . On 30 November 1941 , " U - 563 " was attacked by an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley of No . 502 Squadron RAF in the Bay of Biscay . The damage was serious enough that the submarine could not dive and the commander was wounded , obliging the boat to return to Germany for repairs . 4th and 5th patrols . For her fourth sortie , " U - 563 " again put out into the Atlantic , sailing west of Ireland . She then turned northeast for the ' gap ' between the Faroe and Shetland Islands . She arrived at Bergen in Norway on 3 February 1942 . Her fifth patrol , following short trips to Hamburg and Kiel , was in many respects , her fourth outing in reverse - starting in Kiel and finishing in Brest . 6th patrol . She departed Brest on 9 December 1942 and sank the " Bretalda " about west northwest of Cape Finisterre ( northwest Spain ) on the 18th . The boat returned to Brest on 14 January 1943 . 7th patrol . " U - 563 " was attacked by a Bristol Beaufighter on 22 March 1943 which caused only slight damage . The boat damaged the " Sunoil " with a torpedo on 5 April ; this ship was subsequently sunk by " U - 530 " . " U - 563 " was then attacked on the 7th by a B - 24 Liberator of 86 Squadron . Damage was slight , but two men were lost when the submarine crash - dived . On her most successful day , 12 April 1943 , the boat sank the " Pacific Grove " and damaged the " Fresno City " southeast of Cape Farewell ( Greenland ) . The " Fresno City " was sunk later that day by " U - 706 " . " U - 563 " also sank the Dutch ship " Ulysses " in the same area . 8th patrol and loss . The boat left Brest for the last time on 29 May 1943 . On the 31st , she was sunk by two British Handley Page Halifax es of 58 Squadron and an Australian Sunderland flying boat of No . 228 Squadron RAF . Forty - nine men died with " U - 563 " ; there were no survivors .