On 3 May 1944 USS Donnell was on her fifth transatlantic voyage, when she made a sound contact and sighted a periscope 450 miles southwest of Cape Clear, Ireland. She prepared for a depth charge attack but was hit at 12.00 hours by one Gnat torpedo from U-473, which hit the after part and the explosion of her own depth charges blew of the stern. 29 men were killed and 28 wounded. The vessel was towed by the destroyer escorts USS Reeves (DD 156) and USS Hopping (DE 155) and the tug HMS Samsonia to Dunnstaffnage Bay, Scotland, arriving on 12 May. The damage was too extensive to be repaired, so the vessel was reclassified as IX-182 on 10 July 1944 and was used as accommodation ship at Lisahally. Later towed via Plymouth to Cherbourg where she supplied electric power to shore. 1945 she laid in Portland and Plymouth and was then towed back to the States and was decommissioned on 23 October 1945. She was stricken on 16 November 1945 and sold for scrap on 29 April 1946.

Hit by U-boat
A total loss on 3 May 1944 by U-473 (Sternberg).