At 16:01, the German submarine U-571 surfaced to investigate the ship according to the prize rules after spotting a blue-white-blue flag.

The U-boat tried to stop the unescorted and unarmed Nicholas Cuneo by firing three rounds from her 20mm AA deck gun over the ship.

[2] The vessel however turned away at full speed and sent distress signals, whereupon the next rounds were fired directly at the hull of Nicholas Cuneo.

The ship soon caught fire and the submarine submerged quickly and left the area due to an aircraft arriving at the scene.

The destroyer USS Noa investigated the still burning Nicholas Cuneo later that day and reported her being beyond salvage with 26 shell holes visible and a list of 30° to port.