Ships hit by U-boats


Saleier

Dutch Steam merchant



Photo Courtesy of arendnet.com

NameSaleier
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage6,563 tons
Completed1920 - Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow 
OwnerNV Stoomvaart Mij ´Nederland´, Amsterdam 
HomeportBatavia 
Date of attack10 Apr 1941Nationality:      Dutch
 
FateSunk by U-52 (Otto Salman)
Position58° 04'N, 30° 48'W - Grid AK 2852
Complement63 (0 dead and 63 survivors).
ConvoyOB-306 (dispersed)
RouteNewcastle (30 Mar) - Loch Ewe - Durban - Port Said 
CargoCoal 
History  
Notes on event

At 19.12 hours on 10 April 1941 the Saleier (Master J. Riedel), dispersed from convoy OB-306 on 9 April, was hit by two torpedoes from U-52 and sank by the bow in 15 seconds after being hit by a coup de grâce at 19.55 hours. All crew members, some of them wounded, abandoned ship in three lifeboats and were picked up by USS Niblack (DD 424) the next day and brought to Reykjavik.

En route, the USS Niblack (DD 424) attacked a sonar contact with three depth charges. This action is often mentioned as first military action between Germany and the USA in the Second World War, but no U-boat reported being under attack on that day in the area, so the contact was probably false.

 
On boardWe have details of 19 people who were on board


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