First patrol

U-541's first patrol began with her departure from Kiel on 4 November 1943. She passed through the gap separating Iceland and the Faroe Islands before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.

She entered Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 9 January 1944.

Second and third patrols

For her second foray, U-541 headed toward the eastern seaboard of North America.

On her third sortie, she sank the Livingston northeast of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.

The boat was preparing to attack a convoy while on the surface in the Gulf of St. Lawrence when HMCS Norsyd opened fire; U-541 was forced to dive. She was then hunted for two days by four frigates, a minesweeper and aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), but escaped.

On 26 May 1944, on its way from Lisbon (departure 16 May 1944) to Port Richmond, Philadelphia, USA (arrival 30 May 1944), the Serpa Pinto was stopped in the mid-Atlantic by the U-541. The U-boat's captain ordered the Serpa Pinto's crew and passengers to abandon the ship in the lifeboats, and requested permission from Kriegsmarine headquarters to torpedo the ship. The passengers and crew, with the exception of the captain who decided to remain on board whatever the German decision, duly left the ship in the lifeboats. There they were forced to wait all night while the German U-boat awaited a reply to its request. By dawn an answer had arrived from Admiral Karl Dönitz, who refused permission to sink the ship. The U-boat then departed the area and the lifeboats returned to the ship. The ship's doctor, a cooker and a 15 months child drowned during this incident. Two military-aged Americans were taken in the submarine.

Fourth patrol

Her last patrol began in Horten Naval Base in Norway on 7 April 1945. It ended with her surrender in Gibraltar on 12 May 1945.

Fate

U-541 was transferred to Lisahally in Northern Ireland for Operation Deadlight. She was sunk on 5 January 1946 at 55°38′N 07°35′W.^[2]

Wolfpacks

U-541 took part in four wolfpacks, namely:

• Coronel (4 – 8 December 1943)
• Coronel 2 (8 – 14 December 1943)
• Coronel 3 (14 – 17 December 1943)
• Borkum (18 – 26 December 1943)