and the capture failed. This was the first such instance of a U-boat boarding and acquisition in World War II, though it was unsuccessful; the exploit was repeated the following month when U-110 was captured by ships of 3 Escort Group. Fate On 5 February 1942 Arbutus was escorting convoy ON 63 when it was detected by . The U-boat sent a sighting report and commenced shadowing, but the transmission was DFed and escorts and Arbutus ran down the bearing to attack. The U-boat commander, K/L H Zimmmerman, responded aggressively, counter-attacking and torpedoing Arbutus as she approached. The corvette broke in half and sank, with the loss of half her crew. 43 men, including her commander, were lost. U-136 was subsequently depth-charged by Chelsea, damaged and forced to abandon her pursuit, saving ON 63 from further harm. Successes During her service Arbutus was credited with sharing in the destruction of two U-boats: Notes References Clay Blair: Hitler's U-Boat War Vol I (The Hunters 1939–1942) (1996) Gardiner R, Chesnau R: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 (1980) Elliott, P: Allied Escort Ships of World War II (1977) Arnold Hague: The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945 (2000). ISBN (Canada) 1 55125 033 0 . ISBN (UK) 1 86176 147 3 Paul Kemp: U-Boats Destroyed (1997). Axel Neistle: German U-Boat Losses during World War II (1998). External links HMS Arbutus on the Arnold Hague database at convoyweb.org.uk. Arbutus at uboat.net Arbutus at navalhistory.net Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Navy 1940 ships Maritime incidents in February 1942 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships built on the River Blyth