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Allied Ships hit by U-boats


Geo. W. McKnight


NameGeo. W. McKnight
Type:Motor tanker
Tonnage12.502 tons
Completed1933 - Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel 
OwnerAnglo-American Oil Co Ltd, London 
HomeportLondon 
Date of attack3 May, 1942Nationality:      British
 
FateDamaged by U-66 (Richard Zapp)
Position11.18N, 61.19W - Grid ED 9839
- See location on a map -
Complement55 (0 dead and 55 survivors).
ConvoyON-87 (dispersed)
RouteAvonmouth - Belfast - Trinidad 
CargoBallast 
History In 1950 renamed Esso Edinburg and later broken up at Blyth in July 1954. 
Notes on loss At 10.23 hours on 3 May, 1943, the unescorted Geo W. McKnight was hit by the last torpedo from U-66 off Trinidad. The U-boat had chased the zig-zagging tanker since 5 hours and afterwards surfaced to attack with the deck gun. The Germans fired 3 shots and scored 2 hits from a distance of about 4000 metres, but the ten gunners aboard the ship fired back accurately with shots falling as close as 80 metres, forcing the U-boat to break off its attack. The tanker arrived in Trinidad the same day and later received permanent repairs at New York. 


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