 The sinking took place on 7 May 1945, three days after the U-boats had been ordered to surrender.Schroeteler had been transferred to the U-boat service in September 1941 and went on patrol from 23 April 1942 to 15 July 1942 on as a "Kommandantenschüler" (commander-in-training) under the command of Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel.He spent three years as a prisoner of war in England before returning to Germany in 1948.