At 09.55 hours on 12 November 1939 the unescorted and neutral Arne Kjøde (Master Bernt Ingebrektsen) was hit amidships by one G7a torpedo from U-41 and broke in two northwest of Butt of Lewis. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats which lost contact to each other in bad weather. 22 crew members in one of the boats were picked up by the British trawler Night Hawk in 58°45N/07°08W and landed at Stornoway on 14 November.

The master and three crew members drowned when the other boat capsized in heavy seas in the morning of 14 November, but twelve survivors were rescued from the overturned boat by HMS Isis (D 87) (Cdr J.C. Clouston, RN) the same day. In the evening the destroyer located the still floating afterpart of the Arne Kjøde and in the morning on 15 November took it in tow until the towing line parted due to high seas. The net layer HMS Guardian (T 89 (Capt E.G.N. Rushbrooke, DSC, RN) arrived to assist, but a gale in the evening forced the destroyer to scuttle the afterpart by gunfire in 59°20N/07°12W. The forepart was scuttled by gunfire from HMS Chitral (F 57) (Capt G. Hamilton, RN) in 59°06N/06°55W.

The survivors of the Cresswell sunk just previously were aboard the U-boat (the commander, having saved them, had planned to put them on another ship later on) and witnessed the attack.