President of the German Reich
Karl Dönitz directed all U-boats to cease attacks on May 4, ahead of Germany's surrender. While most commanding officers obeyed this order, some either did not receive it or chose to ignore it. On May 5,
U-853 was lying in wait off Point Judith when she sighted the SS
Black Point. Two
torpedoes from the U-boat struck the
Black Point; one blew off the stern of the ship. Within 15 minutes, the ship capsized and sank in of water. The SS
Black Point would be the last American-flagged merchant ship to be sunk in WWII. Of those aboard, 11 crewmen and one Navy guard died; 34 others were rescued by nearby vessels. A radio report about the torpedoing from one of the rescue ships, the SS
Kamen, was picked up by US Navy's
Eastern Sea Frontier command in
New York and by the
1st Naval District in
Boston. The nearest warships, which were under the command of Commander F. C. McCune, were part of Task Force 60.7 (TF60.7). The escort group consisted of
destroyer (Lt.Cdr CA Baldwin),
destroyer escorts (Lt.Cdr EL Barsumian) and (Lt.Cdr L Iselin ), and
frigate (Lt.Cdr Tollaksen CG ).
Ericsson was transiting the
Cape Cod Canal with McCune on board when the summons came, so the remaining four ships headed for ''Kamen's'' location, with Tollaksen in temporary command. They had been en route to
Boston after escorting Convoy GUS 84 to New York. With the news of the sinking, they were immediately ordered to start a
search and destroy mission against the submarine. When the first ships arrived at Point Judith at 19.30, they began sweeping the area with their late-war
Sonar equipment.
U-853 was discovered bottomed in of water just after midnight. After the warships had made their first attack, oil was sighted on the surface, sparking the first series of claims that the U-boat had been destroyed. However, the ships continued to find contacts, so the attacks continued. McCune resumed overall command when
Ericsson arrived in the early hours of the morning.
Amick was detached to make a pre-arranged rendezvous, and reinforcements arrived later, comprising the destroyers
Barney,
Breckinridge, and
Blakeley, the frigate
Newport, the corvettes
Action and
Restless, and the auxiliary destroyer
Semmes. These took up position around the search site to guard against the U-boat's slipping past the attackers. Attacks continued through the night. At 0530, oil, planking, life rafts, a chart tabletop, clothing, and an officer's cap were spotted on the surface. Nevertheless, destruction of
U-853 was not accepted by the command of the 1st Naval District in Boston so the hunt continued. By daybreak, the
K class blimps
K-16 and
K-58 from
Lakehurst,
New Jersey joined the attack, locating oil slicks and marking suspected locations with smoke and dye markers.
K-16 also attacked with six rocket bombs. Finally at 1207 Eastern Sea Frontier in New York accepted the destruction of the U-boat and the hunt was ended. ==Wreck==