Porto Alegre
Photo courtesy of Carlos Dufriche
| Name | Porto Alegre | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,187 tons | ||
| Completed | 1921 - Cantiere Navale Triestino, Monfalcone | ||
| Owner | Cia de Carbonífera Rio Grandese, Rio de Janeiro | ||
| Homeport | Rio de Janeiro | ||
| Date of attack | 3 Nov 1942 | Nationality:  Brazilian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-504 (Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske) | ||
| Position | 35.27S, 28.02E - Grid KZ 4589 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 52 (1 dead and 51 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Rio de Janeiro - Capetown - Durban | ||
| Cargo | Oil | ||
| History | Completed in May 1921 as Italian Gilda for Cantieri Riuniti dell’ Adriatico (Cosulich Soc Triestina di Nav), Trieste. 1933 sold to Brazil and renamed Porto Alegre. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 16.42 hours on 3 Nov, 1942, the unescorted and unarmed Porto Alegre (Master José Francisco Pinto de Medeiros) was hit by one torpedo from U-504 off Port Elizabeth. The ship sank after being hit by a coup de grâce at 17.20 hours. One crew member was lost. She had picked up eleven survivors from the Laplace, which had been sunk by U-159 (Witte) on 29 October. The survivors were questioned by the Germans and later made landfall about 50 miles from Port Elizabeth on 7 November. | ||
If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us.