HNoMS Montbretia (K 208)
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| Name | HNoMS Montbretia (K 208) | ||
| Type: | Corvette (Flower) | ||
| Tonnage | 925 tons | ||
| Completed | 1941 - Fleming & Ferguson, Paisley | ||
| Owner | Royal Norwegian Navy | ||
| Homeport | |||
| Date of attack | 18 Nov, 1942 | Nationality:  Norwegian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-262 (Heinz Franke) | ||
| Position | 53.37N, 38.15W - Grid AK 4877 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 70 officers and men (47 dead and 23 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | ONS-144 | ||
| Route | Liverpool (7 Nov) | ||
| Cargo | |||
| History | Laid down as HMS Montbretia (K 208), commissioned as HNoMS Montbretia (K 208) On 21 Jan, 1942, the HNoMS Montbretia (K 208) was one of four vessels in an outward bound convoy that ran aground in a storm near Ballyquintin light, south of Belfast. The corvette was refloated and towed to Belfast 12 days later. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 08.51 hours on 18 Nov, 1942, the HNoMS Montbretia (K 208) was hit in the starboard bow by one of three torpedoes fired from U-262, while she was investigating a radar contact. The corvette had already been missed earlier that night by a torpedo from U-624 (Soden-Fraunhofen) at 06.03 hours. The torpedo explosion opened a large hole in the bow, the forecastle deck twisted upwards and caused the ammunition of the 4in gun to explode, sending debris of the gun platform over the after deck killing three men. The roof of the Asdic deck came down, the bridge distorted and the bulkheads in the wheelhouse stowed in, killing the helmsman. The commander gave order to abandon ship and three carley floats were launched until a second torpedo struck on the port side in the boiler room, breaking the ship in two and caused the ship to sink rapidly. First it was thought that the corvette was hit by two different U-boats, but U-262 had fired a single torpedo at 08.57 hours on a second escort vessel (as Franke wrong assumed), apparently the corvette turned around after the first hit and was hit by the same U-boat. The HNoMS Potentilla (K 214) picked up 20 survivors from two carley floats and five from a cork net. Some of them were badly injured and two later died and were buried at sea that same afternoon. | ||
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