At 01.38 hours on 14 May 1942 the unescorted British Colony (Master R. Wood-Thorburn) was hit in the bow by one torpedo from U-162 90 miles northeast of Bridgetown, Barbados. The hit had not much effect as the tanker managed to evade a second torpedo fired at 02.02 hours. Wattenberg then decided to distract the enemy by leaving on the surface, but overtook the fleeing British Colony on the horizon. At 05.45 hours, the tanker was hit aft by one of two torpedoes and caught fire. After the crew abandoned ship, she was hit by a first coup de grâce at 06.54 hours, but only sank after being hit underneath the funnel by a second at 07.39 hours. Four crew members were lost. The master, 39 crew members and three gunners were questioned by the Germans and later made landfall 13 miles north of Bridgetown.