The sinking "Peleus" left a large debris field, amongst which were several survivors clinging to rafts and wreckage. This debris could betray the presence of "U-852" to enemy aircraft and shipping patrolling the area. Eck decided to sink the wreckage with hand grenades and automatic weapons. The question of whether this "dispersal" order explicitly or implicitly encouraged the killing of the sailors in the water, or whether this was an unfortunate example of collateral damage was the subject of a post-war trial. During the trial, Eck acknowledged he realized that by sinking the rafts, he was denying the seamen a chance of survival.