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7 Aug 1943
Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
American PV-1 Ventura BuNo 29916 (VB-128 USN, pilot Lt F.C. Cross)

13.22 hrs, 300 miles (483 km) east of Cape Charles VA: the boat was located by radar and attacked by the PV-1 from NAS New York. The aircraft was hit by flak on the approach, but dropped four depth charges, which turned out to be duds. U-566 misidentified the attacker as a B-25 Mitchell, recording that it left with the starboard engine on fire. Despite being wounded, Lt Cross managed to ditch the plane successfully, but afterwards died in the water, while the other two crewmen were rescued later that day by a Mariner flying boat.

7 Aug 1943
Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
American PV-1 Ventura BuNo 29909 (VB-128 USN, pilot Lt Joseph M. George)

At 18.15 hrs, the boat was attacked by a second PV-1 from NAS New York and again replied with AA fire. One of the four depth charges dropped actually hit U-566 and bounced off before exploding, but caused no damage. The Germans again misidentified the attacker as a Mitchell and scored several AA hits after it passed over the boat, causing the burning aircraft to crash at a distance of some 1200m. All five aircrew were lost.

U-566 then made for the crash site, having sighted a rubber dinghy, but before it was reached another Ventura (VB-126 USN, pilot Lt J.R. Smith) from NAS Quonset and a PBM Mariner flying boat (VB-211 USN, pilot Lt E.C. Scully) from Elizabeth City arrived at the scene. The U-boat fired at the aircraft (misidentified as a Mitchell and a Lerwick), and then dived at 18.29 hrs. The Ventura immediately dropped four depth charges. The depth charges detonated without effect, but U-566 was forced to surface by a malfunctioning diving tank and manned the AA guns again. The Mariner was hit as it made several passes while its eight depth charges hung up, until the emergency release was used. At the same time, the U-boat submerged accidentally, the commander closing the conning tower hatch from the bridge and clinging to the periscope standard until the LI brought the boat to the surface again. The II.WO and seven crew were swept overboard, but were rescued within 20 minutes, during which the replacement crew on the AA guns fought off a strafing run by the Ventura at 19.08 hrs. U-566 subsequently dived and escaped with only minor damage from gunfire, having shot down two aircraft and damaged two others in one day. One of the crew was wounded in the left hand during the last strafing attack while four men, including the commander and I.WO, suffered burst eardrums from their involuntary dive.

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