. The U-boat successfully attacked the unescorted Greek merchant ship Efthalia Mari east of Madagascar on 5 August, after spotting her using a Fa 330 Bachstelze rotor kite. Hit by two torpedoes, the ship sank in eight minutes. U-177 was one of only a few U-boats equipped with the aerial observation platform, and the only one to have successfully used it. The submarine returned to Bordeaux, 1 October 1943, after 184 days at sea. Third patrol and loss Under the command of Korvettenkapitän Heinz Buchholz, U-177 sailed from La Pallice, where she had docked 26 December 1943, 2 January 1944, and once again headed south. On the 36th day of the patrol, 6 February, she was sunk in the Atlantic west of Ascension Island, in position , by depth charges dropped by a P4BY-1 Liberator bomber from VB-107. Fifty men were lost; 15 survived, they were picked up by . Summary of raiding history References Bibliography External links World War II submarines of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean World War II shipwrecks in the South Atlantic German Type IX submarines U-boats commissioned in 1942 U-boats sunk in 1944 U-boats sunk by US aircraft U-boats sunk by depth charges 1941 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Maritime incidents in February 1944