Bradford City
British Motor merchant
Name | Bradford City | ||
Type: | Motor merchant | ||
Tonnage | 4,953 tons | ||
Completed | 1936 - Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Haverton Hill, Middlesbrough | ||
Owner | Sir William Reardon Smith & Sons Ltd, Cardiff | ||
Homeport | Bideford | ||
Date of attack | 1 Nov 1941 | Nationality: British | |
Fate | Sunk by U-68 (Karl-Friedrich Merten) | ||
Position | 22° 59'S, 9° 49'E - Grid GH 2638 | ||
Complement | 45 (0 dead and 45 survivors). | ||
Convoy | |||
Route | Port Louis, Mauritius - Capetown - Freetown - UK | ||
Cargo | 9500 tons of sugar and rum | ||
History | Completed in June 1936 | ||
Notes on event | At 06.54 hours on 1 Nov 1941 the unescorted Bradford City (Master Henry Paul) was hit by one of three torpedoes from U-68 about 300 miles west of Walvis Bay, South West Africa. Shortly afterwards the submerged U-boat collided slightly with its target because they had problems in keeping the depth and came to the surface only 10 metres from the ship. Luckily for the Germans the crew was already abandoning ship in two lifeboats and did not fire at the U-boat, which immediately dived again and only had a bent bow from this encounter. The ship developed a list to port and sank quickly. The master, 36 crew members and eight gunners were then questioned by the Germans and later made landfall near Walvis Bay and were rescued by South African troops. | ||
On board | We have details of 3 people who were on board. |
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