At 03.54 hours on 5 May 1944, U-967 fired a Gnat at convoy GUS-38 about 120 miles northwest of Oran, Algeria and reported a hit on a medium-sized ship after 11 minutes 58 seconds, but this was probably an end-of-run detonation. USS Laning (DE 159) located the U-boat after the unsuccessful attack and started an attack run, but U-967 fired a Gnat at the escort ships at 04.41 hours, hitting USS Fechteler (DE 157) (Lt C.B. Gill, USN) amidships. The explosion lifted the ship out of the water and broke her in two. The most crew members abandoned ship before both parts sank. One officer and 26 ratings were lost. The commander, nine officers and 126 ratings were picked up by USS Laning and taken to Gibraltar, while 53 ratings were rescued by HMS Hengist (W 110). 26 survivors had been injured and two of them died of wounds in the days after the sinking.