At 02.51 hours on 24 April 1943 the unescorted Santa Catalina (Master Olaf Berg) was hit on the starboard side by two stern torpedoes from U-129, while steaming on a zigzag course at 16.5 knots about 370 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The first torpedo struck at the #1 hold and the second nearly the same spot and blew holes in both sides of the ship. The explosions started a fire in the cargo of gasoline and the vessel soon listed 40° to starboard. The ten officers, 47 crewmen, 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in and nine 20mm guns) and ten passengers abandoned ship after 20 minutes in the two starboard lifeboats and four rafts. The ship sank by the bow ten minutes after being hit by a coup de grâce at 03.10 hours. The survivors were picked up after twelve hours by Venezia and taken to San Juan, Puerto Rico.