Prins Willem II
| Name | Prins Willem II | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 1.304 tons | ||
| Completed | 1939 - NV Scheepsbouwwerf ´De Merwede´ voorheen Van Vliet & Co, Hardinxveld | ||
| Owner | Maatschappij Zeetransport NV, Rotterdam | ||
| Homeport | Rotterdam | ||
| Date of attack | 9 Apr, 1941 | Nationality:  Dutch | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-98 (Robert Gysae) | ||
| Position | 59.50N, 24.25W - Grid AL 1443 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 25 (3 dead and 22 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | HX-117 (straggler) | ||
| Route | Halifax - London | ||
| Cargo | 2020 tons of sugar | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 02.16 hours on 9 Apr, 1941, the Prins Willem II (Master C.A. van der Eijk) was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-98 and sank by the stern within three minutes. The ship was straggling from the convoy HX-117 since the night of 7/8 April due to thick mist and heavy weather. Three crew members were lost. The survivors abandoned ship in both lifeboats and were questioned by the Germans, but this proved to be difficult due to the strong winds. They apparently misunderstood the name of the vessel and reported their victim as Dutch merchant Willemsplein (5500 grt). The master and 12 men in the first boat were picked up the same day by the Swedish steam merchant Klipparen, which unsuccessfully searched for the other boat and landed them at Thorshavn on 11 April. The survivors in the second boat were rescued by Tuscan Star. | ||
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