Carsbreck
British Steam merchant
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Carsbreck | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 3,670 tons | ||
| Completed | 1936 - Ayrshire Dockyard Co Ltd, Irvine | ||
| Owner | Honeyman & Co, Glasgow | ||
| Homeport | Glasgow | ||
| Date of attack | 24 Oct 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-564 (Reinhard Suhren) | ||
| Position | 36° 20'N, 10° 50'W - Grid CG 8492 | ||
| Complement | 42 (24 dead and 18 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | HG-75 | ||
| Route | Almeira (11 Oct) - Gibraltar - Barrow | ||
| Cargo | 6000 tons of iron ore | ||
| History | Completed in September 1936 as Coulbeg for Dornoch Shipping Co Ltd (Lambert Brothers Ltd), Glasgow. 1938 renamed Carsbreck for Honeyman & Co, Glasgow. At 02.04 hours on 18 Oct 1940, the Carsbreck in convoy SC-7 was hit by one of two torpedoes from U-38 (Liebe) in position 58°46N/14°11W. At 02.27 hours, the U-boat fired a G7a torpedo at the ship but missed. The ship stayed afloat on its load of lumber and was escorted to the Clyde by HMS Heartsease (K 15) (LtCdr E.J.R. North, RNR), arrving on 21 October. She was repaired and returned to service in December 1940. | ||
| Notes on event | After 06.36 hours on 24 Oct 1941, U-564 fired five torpedoes at convoy HG-75 about 300 miles west of Gibraltar. The first three exploded in columns of red fire on different ships after 21, 31 and 41 seconds. The last two were heard to detonate after 3 minutes 14 seconds and 3 minutes 56 seconds. Suhren claimed five ships damaged with 25.000 grt. In fact, three ships, the Carsbreck, Ariosto and Alhama were torpedoed and sunk. The master 19 crew members and four gunners from the Carsbreck (Master John Dugald Muir) were lost. 16 crew members and two gunners were picked up by FFL Commandant Duboc, transferred to HMS Ariguani (F 105) which was torpedoed and damaged by U-83 (Kraus) two days later. The vessel was abandoned, but later reboarded and towed to Gibraltar. The survivors from the Carsbreck were picked up by HMS Campion (K 108) (LtCdr A. Johnson, RNVR), transferred to HMS Vidette (D 48) (LtCdr E.N. Walmsley, RN) and landed at Gibraltar. | ||
| On board | We have details of 25 people who were on board. | ||
Attack entries for Carsbreck
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Loss type | Tons | Nat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1940 | U-38 | Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe | Damaged | 3,670 | |
| 24 Oct 1941 | U-564 | Oblt. Reinhard Suhren | Sunk | 3,670 | |
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