FFL Vikings (P 41)
French A/S trawler
| Name | FFL Vikings (P 41) | ||
| Type: | A/S trawler | ||
| Tonnage | 1,150 tons | ||
| Completed | 1935 - Hall, Russell & Co Ltd, Aberdeen | ||
| Owner | Free French Navy | ||
| Homeport | Fécamp | ||
| Date of attack | 16 Apr 1942 | Nationality:  French | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-81 (Friedrich Guggenberger) | ||
| Position | 33° 40'N, 35° 10'E - Grid CP 5639 | ||
| Complement | 57 (41 dead and 16 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Haifa (16 Apr) - Tripoli, Lebanon | ||
| Cargo | |||
| History | Completed in November 1935 as French steam trawler Vikings for Les Pecheries de Fécamp SA, Fécamp. On 3 Jul 1940, seized by Britain and in August 1940 commissioned in the Free French Navy as the A/S trawler FFL Vikings (P 41). | ||
| Notes on event | At 19.54 hours on 16 April 1942 U-81 spotted a tanker and one escort vessel off the coast of Lebanon and fired at 20.38 and 20.39 hours two torpedoes each at both ships. FFL Vikings (P 41) (LV Elie Touchaleaume) exploded and sank 23 miles 240° from Beirut after being hit by a torpedo. At 21.48 hours, the U-boat fired two torpedoes at the Caspia and hit her with one torpedo in the bow. The tanker sank in flames 10 miles south of Beirut after being hit by a coup de grâce at 22.10 hours. | ||
| On board | We have details of 43 people who were on board. | ||
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