After "U-604" was scuttled, "U-185" headed for home, with 100 men crammed aboard a U-boat designed for 54. On 16 August she transferred 23 men to "U-172". Short of fuel, "U-185" was heading for a rendezvous with south-west of the Azores on the morning of 24 August. The U-boat was spotted by a Grumman TBF-1 Avenger and Grumman F4F Wildcat attack team of Squadron VC-13, flying from the escort carrier . The aircraft attacked with machine guns and depth charges, killing the U-boat's lookouts and AA crew and rupturing the pressure hull, allowing seawater to reach the battery cells and produce toxic chlorine gas. One diesel engine caught fire, producing more fumes, and all electrical systems were knocked out, plunging the vessel into darkness.