At 12.42 hours on 9 December 1941 U-652 passed the unescorted and neutral Saint Denis about 60 miles south of Mallorca, Balearic Islands and intercepted a radio message that reported their position on the distress frequency. The Germans also noticed inadequate neutrality markings and therefore ordered the ship to stop for examination, but instead of sending a boat with the ship’s papers a further radio message was sent, stating that the ship was being attacked by a U-boat and again mentioning their position. Due to this hostile action U-652 hit the ship with a first torpedo at 14.01 hours, followed by a coup de grâce ten minutes later. Saint Denis sank immediately after being struck amidships by the second torpedo. The crew had abandoned ship after the first hit, but three men were lost.