Forty-two of her crew were killed in the action, and three more died later; the fifteen survivors finally reached Brazil 31 days later. Stephen Hopkins'''s commander, Captain Paul Buck, was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions. So was United States Merchant Marine Academy cadet Edwin Joseph O'Hara, who single-handedly fired the last shots from the ship's 4-inch gun. Meanwhile, Stier had been heavily damaged: unable to make headway, and not responding to the helm. Gerlach made the decision to scuttle the ship and prevent her from falling into Allied hands. After the scuttling charges were exploded, Stier sank at 11:40 AM. All but two of her crew survived the fight, and returned to France on the German supply ship , which was accompanying Stier'' at the time of the action. Raiding career References World War II commerce raiders World War II cruisers of Germany Ships built in Kiel World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1936 ships Maritime incidents in September 1942 Auxiliary cruisers of the Kriegsmarine Naval magazine explosions