At 06.19 hours on 29 Mar, 1941, U-48 fired her first torpedo at the convoy HX-115 south of Iceland and reported a hit on the Hylton, but in fact the Germanic was hit. The second torpedo fired at 06.24 hours missed and the next two torpedoes, fired at 06.27 and 06.55 hours, did not hit the targets but instead two ships beyond it. The Limbourg was hit at this time. The xB-Dienst presumed a hit on the Athelprince and a hit on the British steam merchant Masunda (5250 tons) was reported, but these ships were in fact not struck. It seems that either the Germanic or the Limbourg were hit more than once. At 08.06 hours, U-48 attacked the convoy again and this time the Hylton was sunk about 600 miles west of Cape Wrath.

The master and 34 crew members from the Germanic (Master Richard Mortimer) were picked up by the HMS Dianella (K 07) (Lt J.G. Rankin) and landed at Londonderry.