At 11.46 hours on 29 June 1941 the unescorted George J. Goulandris (Master Dimitrios Lekkas), a straggler from convoy SL-78, was hit on the starboard side by two G7e torpedoes from U-66 about 380 miles west of the Canary Islands. The first torpedo struck in #2 hold and the second in #4 holds, blowing off the hatches and sugar from the cargo over the decks. The crew could not send a distress signal as the wireless had been wrecked and abandoned ship in two lifeboats within three minutes when the ship began to settle quickly, sinking 15 minutes after being hit. The U-boat surfaced shortly afterwards and the Germans questioned the master, asking the usual questions about the name and nationality of the ship, its cargo and destination. They then gave provisions and cigarettes to the occupants of both boats before leaving the area. The survivors were picked up two hours after the sinking by Batna from the same convoy and were landed at Oban on 12 July.