At 04.42 hours on 10 May 1941, U-556 (Wohlfarth) attacked the convoy OB-318 southeast of Cape Farewell in 59°23N/35°25W and reported two ships with 10.000 grt sunk. The xB-Dienst assumed from a SOS message that one of the ships was the Dutch steam merchant Hercules, but in fact the torpedo missed the British steam merchant Chaucer.
In fact, only the Aelybryn (Master Harold William Brockwell) was hit and damaged. The ship was towed to Reykjavik by HMS Hollyhock (K 64) (Lt T.E. Davies, OBE, RNR), arriving on 17 May. One crew member was killed. The master and 43 crew members were picked up by HMS Daneman (FY 123) (Lt. A.H. Ballard, RNR).

At 23.10 hours on 11 March 1943 the unescorted Aelybryn (Master Harold William Brockwell) was hit by two G7a torpedoes from U-160 east-northeast of Durban. The ship sank by the stern after being hit by a G7a coup de grâce at 20.32 hours. The Germans questioned the survivors and apparently misunderstood the name, reporting the vessel as the American steam merchant Arian. Nine crew members were lost. The master, 27 crew members and four gunners were picked up by the Portuguese steam passenger ship Lourenço Marques and landed at Capetown.