Nimba
Panamanian Steam merchant
Nimba under her former name Asta. Photo courtesy of Sjöhistoriska Museet, Stockholm
| Name | Nimba | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 1,854 tons | ||
| Completed | 1900 - Osbourne, Graham & Co Ltd, North Hylton, Sunderland | ||
| Owner | Alcoa SS Co, New York | ||
| Homeport | Panama | ||
| Date of attack | 13 Sep 1942 | Nationality:  Panamanian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-515 (Werner Henke) | ||
| Position | 10° 41'N, 60° 24'W - Grid EE 7778 | ||
| Complement | 32 (20 dead and 12 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Paramaribo - Trinidad | ||
| Cargo | 2780 tons of bauxite | ||
| History | Completed in January 1901 as Swedish August Leffler for Ångfartygs-A/B Orion (K.O.F. Dalman), Gothenburg. 1917 renamed Lygnern for Fornyade Ångfartygs-A/B Viking (G. Carlsson), Gothenburg. 1920 renamed August Leffler for A/B August Leffler & Son, Gothenburg. 1921 sold to Germany and renamed Boltenhagen for August Bolten: Wm. Miller’s Nachfolger GmbH & Co KG, Hamburg. 1924 returned to Sweden and renamed August Leffler for Rederi-A/B Johanna, Gothenburg. 1928 sold to Finland and renamed Asta for Rederi-A/B Ilos (C.O. Norin), Mariehamn. On 27 Dec 1941, seized in New York by the US government, registered in Panama by the US War Shipping Administration (WSA) and assigned to the Alcoa SS Co under a GAA agreement in June 1942. | ||
| Notes on event | At 06.34 hours on 13 Sep 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Nimba (Master M.L. Newcomb) was hit on the starboard side by two torpedoes from U-515. The first struck at the #1 hold and the second in the engine room. The first explosion ripped open the deck, blew bauxite into the air and let the forward rigging crash on deck, while the second destroyed the starboard lifeboat and caused the ship to sink within one minute. The master, 18 crew members and one Workaway seaman were lost. The U-boat erroneously reported the ship as Senta after questioning the survivors. There was no time to launch a lifeboat and only seven survivors managed to board a raft, while three others clung to wreckage and two floated in the water for 12 hours before they were all picked up by USS Barney (DD 149) at 18.30 hours the same day and landed at Port of Spain the next day. | ||
| On board | We have details of 19 people who were on board. | ||
If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us.