At 17.45 hours on 1 Feb, 1943, U-617 fired a spread of four torpedoes at a vessel identified as cruiser of the Dido class and observed two hits and a boiler explosion. At 17.55 hours, the ship capsized and sank by the stern after two hours. The victim was HMS Welshman (M 84) (Capt W.H.D. Friedberger, DSO, RN) which sank 35 miles east-northeast off Tobruk, Libya. Nine officers and 139 ratings were lost, also an unknown number of military passengers (among them two civilians and four aircrew members that had been badly burnt in a plane crash on Malta). Only a few survivors were rescued by HMS Tetcott (L 99) (LtCdr R.H. Rycroft, RN) and HMS Belvoir (L 32) (A/LtCdr J.F.D. Bush, DSC, RN).