Between 23.01 and 23.02 hours on 7 September 1942 U-517 fired one stern torpedo and a spread of two bow torpedoes at three of the four ships in convoy QS-33 from between its columns about 16 miles east of Cape Gaspé and sank the Mount Pindus, Oakton and Mount Taygetus.

The Mount Taygetus (Master John Simigalalas) in station #41 was struck on the port side between the boiler and engine room by the second bow torpedo. The chief engineer and four other crew members on watch below were killed. Most of the crew members and gunners (the ship was armed with four machine guns) abandoned ship in the starboard lifeboat because the port boat had been blown into the #5 hold by the torpedo explosion. Others were forced to jump overboard when the ship sank rapidly about five minutes after being hit and swam to rafts that had been released. The survivors were subsequently picked up by the Canadian motor launch HMCS Q-083 (Lt W.M. Grand, RCNVR) and landed at Gaspé.