At 03.46 and 03.54 hours on 30 January 1944, U-957 (Schaar) fired two Gnats at the escorts of the convoy JW-56B and heard two detonations, which were claimed by Schaar as hits on two destroyers, but they were end-of-run detonations.

At 03.57 hours, U-278 fired a Gnat, which struck HMS Hardy (Capt. William Geoffrey Arthur Robson, DSO and Bar, DSC, RN). This hit was observed and claimed by U-957 and also by U-472 (Forstner), which had fired a Gnat at 03.57 hours, but missed the HNoMS Stord. At 04.20 hours, U-957 fired a spread of three FAT torpedoes at two corvettes, which laid stopped (probably the destroyer HMS Venus rescuing survivors from the torpedoed destroyer HMS Hardy) and heard one detonation after four minutes, but no destroyer had been hit at this time.

HMS Hardy had been seriously damaged and had to be sunk by a coup de grâce by HMS Venus in position 73º40'N, 24º30'E. This detonation was heard by U-601 (Hansen), which thought that her Gnat, fired at 05.24 hours had hit this destroyer. The U-boat then crossed the sinking position of HMS Hardy and sighted an oil slick and debris.

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 30 Jan 1944 by U-278 (Franze).