"Oberleutnant zur See" Albrecht Brandi joined Topp's crew as a commander in training on "U-552"s seventh war patrol. The patrol to the West Atlantic, Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia started on 25 December in Saint-Nazaire. Topp sank three ships totaling before returning to Saint-Nazaire on 27 January 1942. Topp experienced mechanical problems with his torpedoes. On 15 January he expended four on the small merchant ship "Dayrose" from a range of 800 metres before a fifth sank it. Topp signalled BdU about the incident. Topp experienced the same problems in the sinking of "Frances Salman", five miles south of Cape Race. Repeated failures were psychologically unnerving. Unable to load the spare torpedoes from deck stowage due to icing and inclement weather, BdU called him home.