Action of 27 March 1942

The action of 27 March 1942 was a naval battle fought between the United States and Germany during World War II in the Atlantic Ocean. While patrolling 300 miles off Norfolk, Virginia, an American Q-ship encountered a U-boat and a short surface engagement ensued.

USS Atik
USS Atik (AK-101), under Lieutenant Commander Harry Lynnwood Hicks, was originally a merchantman named SS Carolyn which was converted to a Q-ship after America's entry into World War II. Atik displaced 6,610 tons with a crew of 141 men and an armament of four 4 in naval guns, eight machine guns and six K-guns.

Action
It was about 5:00 pm on 27 March when GS U-123 (1940) detected Atik. At 19:37, on the surface, Kapitänleutnant Reinhard Hardegen fired a spread of G7e torpedoes and one of them struck Atik's bow on port side. The Q-ship caught fire and took on a slight list. Hicks apparently decided that the only way to lure the U-boat within range of his guns was by ordering a lifeboat to be lowered on the starboard side. The trick worked so when U-123 was maneuvering to starboard, around Atik's stern, she opened fire with all of her weapons, including depth charges. The first shots fell short of the U-boat and the others deflected. The American machine gunners were successful, the U-boat's conning tower was slightly damaged and a German midshipman was mortally wounded.

Immediately after the Americans opened fire, Captain Hardegen ordered his deck gun into action and fled out of Atik's range before diving but at 21:29 U-123 attacked again to finish the Q-ship off. After hitting the ship with another torpedo, Atik remained afloat with her bow slowly settling. The remainder of the American crew appeared to be evacuating their ship at this point so the Germans deemed her as no longer being a threat and they surfaced at 22:27 pm to watch Atik sink. Twenty-three minutes later at 22:50 Atik exploded. A gale blew in, killing all of the 141 American sailors. The one German casualty was buried at sea ten minutes later and then U-123 departed. An SOS was received by three nearby American warships, Clemson-class destroyer USS Noa (DD-343), Q-ship USS Asterion (AK-100) and fleet tug USS Sagamore—but when they arrived there were no survivors, only wreckage. American aircraft also searched for several days, finding nothing but debris and five empty lifeboats.