HMS Culver (Y 87)
British Sloop
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| Name | HMS Culver (Y 87) | ||
| Type: | Sloop (Banff) | ||
| Tonnage | 1,546 tons | ||
| Completed | 1929 - Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp, Quincy MA | ||
| Owner | The Admiralty | ||
| Homeport | |||
| Date of attack | 31 Jan 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-105 (Heinrich Schuch) | ||
| Position | 48° 43'N, 20° 14'W - Grid BE 2784 | ||
| Complement | 140 officers and men (127 dead and 13 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | SL-98 | ||
| Route | Bathurst, Gambia - Londonderry | ||
| Cargo | |||
| History | Completed in March 1929 as USCGC Mendota (WPG 49) of the Lake class. On 30 April 1941 transferred to the Admiralty and commissioned as HMS Culver (Y 87). This ship was the first vessel to be equipped with an operational automatic HF/DF when the prototype of the FH4 set was fitted aboard in October 1941. | ||
| Notes on event | At 23.31 hours on 31 January 1942 U-105 fired a salvo of four torpedoes at convoy SL-98 about 450 miles west-southwest of Cape Clear and observed two hits and a large explosion. Schuch thought that he had hit an ammunition freighter, but in fact it was HMS Culver (Y 87) (LtCdr R.T. Gordon-Duff, RN) that blew up after being hit on the port side in the forward boiler room and further aft, probably detonating the after magazine. The sloop heeled 45° to starboard, broke in two and sank within one minute. The commander, seven officers and 119 ratings were lost. One officer and twelve ratings were rescued by HMS Londonderry (U 76) (Cdr J.S. Dalison, RN) and landed at Londonderry on 5 February. | ||
| More info | |||
| On board | We have details of 129 people who were on board. | ||
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