Just a little background information I picked up from uboat.net:
"It was estimated that only 40% of the ships had been sunk by a single torpedo during that period [Operation Paukenschlag January - June 1942], while the rest had either required two or more, or had escaped after one or multiple hits."
This figure does not take into account torpedo failures, and one has to consider that a large number of small coastal vessels were sunk on the U.S. coast as well, which definitely didn't require more than one torpedo. During that time the magnetic pistol was already fairly reliable.
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