Shaftesbury
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Shaftesbury | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 4,284 tons | ||
| Completed | 1923 - Barclay, Curle & Co, Whiteinch, Glasgow | ||
| Owner | Alexander Capper & Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | Glasgow | ||
| Date of attack | 12 Jul 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-116 (Werner von Schmidt) | ||
| Position | 31.42N, 25.30W - Grid DG 6257 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 45 (0 dead and 45 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | OS-33 (dispersed) | ||
| Route | Newport, Mon. (29 Jun) - Belfast Lough (2 Jul) - Buenos Aires | ||
| Cargo | 5700 tons of coal | ||
| History | Built as Hopeland, 1929 renamed Crown of Galicia, 1935 renamed Shaftesbury | ||
| Notes on loss | At 09.45 hours on 12 Jul, 1942, the Shaftesbury (Master Uriel Eynon), dispersed from convoy OS-33 on 11 July, was hit in the stern by two torpedoes from U-116 and sank after 15 minutes about 430 miles 115° from Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The master was taken prisoner by the U-boat, landed at Lorient on 23 August and was then taken to the POW camp Milag Nord. The second officer and 22 survivors were picked up on 23 July by Tuscan Star in 28°15N/22°15W, transferred to the HMS Folkestone (L 22) (Cdr J.G.C. Gibson OBE) and landed at Freetown. The chief officer and 20 survivors made landfall at Villa Cisneros, Spanish Sahara and were later brought to Las Palmas. | ||
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