U-Boat Attack in the North Atlantic
On December 24, 1943 Task Group 21.14 lead by USS Card (CVE-11) was sighted by German aerial reconnaissance while on it's third hunter-killer operation. ... USS Card was attacked by U-415 with a spread of three torpedoes - all missed their target. An attack on USS Decatur (DD-341) by the same boat also failed. ... About three hours later three U-Boats approached USS Leary. U-275 attacked Leary first, striking her with a torpedo near the aft engine room. Several minutes later, U-382 attempted another attack by missed the sinking destroyer. Within the next few moments though, USS Leary became the third and last American destroyer to be sunk by a German U-boat. Leary's commanding officer, CDR James E. Kyes was lost with his ship. ... Survivors were picked up by USS Schenck (DD-159), which found U-645 later the same day, evaded a torpedo and sunk the U-boat with depth charges. The Task Group returned to Norfolk Virginia on January 2, 1944. ... U-275 was sunk by a mine in the English Channel south of Newhaven on March 10, 1945.
