The convoy was shadowed successfully until at 0400 on the morning of 18th December, 1941, contact was lost. The Chief Quartermaster, who is a prisoner, related that he and Heyda were on the bridge at the time and that Heyda, who was about to go below, instructed him to steer as he pleased. He held a course of 030° for two hours and then altered course to 043° which he kept for a further two hours. At 0800 on 18th December the Chief Quartermaster, Frank picked up his telescope and sighted the masts of four destroyers dead ahead. He ordered full speed ahead and remarked: "Quartermaster, your reckoning has justified itself ... four destroyers." The Quartermaster stated that at that moment his heart sank and the only retort he could think of was "Well, Goodbye!"

VI - SINKING OF "U 434"

"Stork" reported that at 0906 (0806 German Summer time) "Stanley" sighted a U-Boat ("U 434") 225°, six miles (port quarter), and "Blankney", "Deptford" and "Exmoor" were ordered to attack, the latter wisely anticipating orders. The convoy was brought back to a course of 350° since an alteration to the west has just been made. Of the ensuing battle, surviving officers of "Stanley", who joined the attack, reported that: "Stanley's" asdics had been out of action for the whole trip as far as transmitting was concerned. She closed the U-Boat at 24 knots, which dived at an estimated range of three miles. At a range of about one mile, oil and wake effects were observed to starboard and "Stanley" reduced to 12 knots and commenced to drop single charges in the form of a square around the position. Three sides of the square were completed (19 depth charges) when "Blankney" came on the scene (some 20 minutes later) and dropped a five-charge pattern with depth settings of 150 and 250 ft. "Blankney" then gave "Stanley" the bearing and ranges of the U-Boat on which information the latter fired a fourteen-charge (one misfired) deep pattern, using the same settings as before. In order to give the U-Boat no time to recover, "Blankney" again attacked immediately after "Stanley"; in fact, there was barely a period of three minutes between the attacks. A pattern of six depth charges was dropped, using the same depth settings as before and the U-Boat surfaced. "Blankney" opened fire and increased speed to ram, but the U-Boat was seen to be abandoning ship. One officer remained on the conning tower firing a gun. It is thought that this was the First Lieutenant, who was the only officer who did not survive. "Blankney" decided too late not to ram, but to attempt to board, and struck the U-Boat a glancing blow, causing slight damage to herself. "Blankney" lowered a whaler, intending to board, but the U-Boat soon blew up and sank in position 36° 08'N., 16°.02' W.; time 0958, 18th December, 1941.

Prisoners from "U 434" stated that, on sighting the British warships approaching, "U 434" submerged to periscope depth and fired one torpedo which missed. "U 434" then dived further, but scarcely had she started to do so when the ticking of asdics was heard and the first depth charges exploded, damaging the conning tower hatch and causing water to stream into the control room. Depth charge after depth charge then exploded around the U-Boat and damage rapidly increased. The lights failed, the hydrophones went "dead", the wheel jamming so that it could not be trained. The steering gear became useless and water was entering forward, making the U-Boat bow heavy. One prisoner stated that the shaking the U-Boat received was so prodigious that it caused the stern torpedo to fire itself of its own accord. Gauges were shattered with the exception of one depth gauge aft which, the Engineer Officer reported, showed that the U-Boat was sinking rapidly.

None too soon, according to the feelings of the majority of survivors, Heyda gave the order to blow the tanks. Prisoners were convinced that had he delayed another few seconds they would have been lost, the boat, which was scarcely manageable, having already sunk to a depth of over 300 feet. "U 434" reached the surface with the motors still running. The destroyers closed in, firing at a range which reduced to 500 yards. Heyda lost no time in ordering his men overboard, after ascertaining that the time fuses to the scuttling charges had been ignited. Prisoners alleged that they did not wait to send a report of sinking to the Vice-Admiral, U-Boats.