Germany claiming sinking of American cruisers and other ships according to the U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee Daily summary dated 16 May 1942

An item referred to press items reporting that on 15 May the German High Command claimed that German aircraft sunk off northern Norway an American heavy cruiser and a destroyer further more an icebreaker and a 2,000 tons freighter and heavily damaging a 10,000 tons freighter. At the moment were none official reports available to conform or refute this claim. Official reports did report the Germain air attack on 2 American destroyers escorting 3 ships in the Faroes area and a British light cruiser escorting ships off northern Norway.(1) What both attacks caused was unknown. The J.I.C. commented that the German High Command was probably referring to these attacks.  

Note

Later it became known that it was the British light cruiser HMS Trinidad. Of the Fiji-class light cruisers, preceded by Dido-class, succeeded by Minotaur-class laid down by HM Dockyard Devonport on 21 April 1938, launched on 21 March 1941 and commissioned on 14 October 1941.

Source

Map Room Papers (Roosevelt Administration), 1942 - 1945. U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee. Daily summary No. 157 dated 16 May 1942