Four days out (of Alexandria), "Newcastle" was torpedoed by the German E-boat "S-56", on 15 June, blowing a complete hole through her bows. The crew saved the ship, which returned at to Alexandria, where she could not be fully repaired but was offered facilities to make her own temporary repairs. This meant building an additional wooden bulkhead, strengthened by concrete, behind the damage. This bulkhead had to be replaced at ports in India, Ceylon, South Africa and Brazil, before she finally arrived in October at Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, where new bows were built by March 1943.