At 21.00 hours on 3 Mar, 1942, two unarmed fishing vessels, the Aeolus and Ben and Josephine (Master Guiseppe Ciaramitaro), were stopped by U-432 while they were engaged in fishing (distance between the vessels was 4 miles) about 170 miles East by South of Thatchers Island. Schultze allowed the crews to leave their ships safely, before they were shelled and sunk.
At 21.00 hours the Ben and Josephine was shelled with 45 shells, caught fire and sank after 30 minutes, then U-432 shelled and sank the Aeolus. The crew of two officers and six men made their way back in dories with the six survivors of the other fishing vessel and landed at Mount Desert Coast Guard Light Station 36 hours after the attack.