At 07.05 hours on 15 January 1940 the neutral Arendskerk (Master Cornelis Johannes Hendrik Wijker) was spotted by U-44 about 100 miles southwest of Quessant and tried to escape when the U-boat was sighted. The Germans fired seven shots across her bow to stop the vessel. When the papers were checked it became clear that she carried contraband and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. At 10.10 hours, the U-boat fired one torpedo that struck in the engine room and broke the ship in two. The after part sank, but the forepart remained afloat and had to be sunk 30 minutes later by 18 rounds from the deck gun. The survivors were picked up by the Italian steam merchant Fedora, transferred to the Dutch motor merchant Poelau Bras and landed at Lisbon.