Towa
Dutch Steam merchant
Name | Towa | ||
Type: | Steam merchant | ||
Tonnage | 5,419 tons | ||
Completed | 1930 - P. Smit Jnr., Rotterdam | ||
Owner | NV Maatschappij ´Vrachtvaart´, Rotterdam | ||
Homeport | Rotterdam | ||
Date of attack | 11 Dec 1940 | Nationality: Dutch | |
Fate | Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) | ||
Position | 58° 50'N, 10° 10'W - Grid AM 2618 | ||
Complement | 37 (18 dead and 19 survivors). | ||
Convoy | HX-92 | ||
Route | Sorel (16 Nov) - Sydney (30 Nov) - London | ||
Cargo | 7778 tons of grain and 48 lorries | ||
History | Completed in May 1930 | ||
Notes on event | At 20.52 hours on 11 Dec 1940 the Towa (Master W. Smit) in convoy HX-92 was hit amidships on the starboard side by one G7e torpedo from U-96 and stopped. When the ship did not sink after a coup de grâce hit at 21.30 hours, the U-boat began shelling the ship at 22.02 hours. 16 rounds were fired that caused the ship to sink at 22.42 hours. The crew abandoned ship in three lifeboats, but one of them capsized when it was lowered incorrectly, the occupants fell into the sea and drowned. The men in one of the other boats were questioned by the Germans, but they somehow misunderstood the name of the vessel as Dover. The master and four men were picked up by HMS Matabele (G 26) (Cdr R.St.V. Sherbrooke, RN), which probably also picked up the remaining survivors and landed them all at Scapa Flow on 16 December. | ||
On board | We have details of 35 people who were on board. |
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