Baron Newlands
Photo courtesy of the Allen Collection
| Name | Baron Newlands | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 3.386 tons | ||
| Completed | 1928 - Ayrshire Dockyard Co Ltd, Irvine | ||
| Owner | H. Hogarth & Sons Ltd, Glasgow | ||
| Homeport | Ardrossan | ||
| Date of attack | 16 Mar, 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-68 (Karl-Friedrich Merten) | ||
| Position | 04.35N, 08.32W - Grid EU 8143 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 38 (18 dead and 20 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Takoradi - Freetown | ||
| Cargo | 4800 tons of manganese ore | ||
| History | Completed in April 1928 | ||
| Notes on loss | At 23.17 hours on 16 Mar, 1942, the unescorted Baron Newlands (Master William Lindsay Ewing) was hit underneath the bridge by one torpedo from U-68 and sank immediately by the bow six miles south of Cape Palmas, Liberia. The U-boat had spotted the ship 15 hours earlier and missed with one G7a torpedo at 11.35 hours. They then almost lost the ship in a thunderstorm and only the bright flashes allowed to keep contact. The Germans observed that the crew did not manage to launch a lifeboat, so they refrained from questioning the survivors. 14 crew members and four gunners were lost. The master, 17 crew members and two gunners landed at Grande Sesters and Piccaniani Cess, near Cape Palmas. | ||
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