British Influence
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| Name | British Influence | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 8.431 tons | ||
| Completed | 1939 - Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Wallsend, Sunderland | ||
| Owner | British Tanker Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 14 Sep, 1939 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-29 (Otto Schuhart) | ||
| Position | 49.43N, 12.49W - Grid BE 3655 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 42 (0 dead and 42 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Abadan, Persia - Hull | ||
| Cargo | 12.000 tons of diesel and fuel oil | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | On 14 Sep, 1939, the unescorted British Influence (Master Ingersoll Hall McMichael) was stopped by U-29 180 miles southwest of Cape Clear and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. At 14.15 hours, the tanker was torpedoed and later sunk by gunfire. The U-boat then fired rockets to attract the attention of rescuers and stopped the Norwegian motor merchant Ida Bakke (Master Anton Zakariassen) en route from Liverpool to the USA and told them where the lifeboats could be found. The master and 41 crew members from the British Influence were picked up by the Norwegian ship, transferred on 15 September off Old Head of Kinsale near Fastnet Light to the Courtmacsherry lifeboat, Co. Cork, and landed at Kinsale Harbour. The next day, the Ida Bakke rescued the survivors of the Cheyenne, which had been sunk by U-53. | ||
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