It was her own demise that made her most famous. At about 05:00 on 30 October 1942, "U-559" was spotted by a Royal Air Force Sunderland, "W" from 201 Squadron in position , 70 miles north of the Nile Delta. The destroyer was alerted by radio and steamed to intercept her, while the destroyers , , and sailed from Port Said, Egypt. At about 12:34 a Wellesley patrol aircraft, "F" from 47 Squadron, spotted the periscope of the submerged "U-559" and attacked with depth charges.