Despite being frequently encountered as rumours, no U-boats ever used Ireland as a refuelling base. The origins of this claim likely originates with the 1939 dumping of 28 rescued Greek sailors by onto the Irish coast, after the U-boat commander Werner Lott sank their Greek cargo freighter, which was bound for Britain with metal ore. This U-boat incident was featured on the cover of the popular U.S. "Life" magazine, on 16 October 1939. As in the days preceding, news of the dumping was widely published, the magazine and the locals who spotted the unloading of the captured Greeks noted that the U-boat had conducted the action and re-submerged before coastal defence aircraft could be directed onto the trespassing vessel.