Ships hit by U-boats


Achilles

Dutch Steam merchant



Photo courtesy of Maritiem Museum, Rotterdam

NameAchilles
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage1,815 tons
Completed1906 - Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Mij NV, Amsterdam 
OwnerNV Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mij (KNSM), Amsterdam 
HomeportAmsterdam 
Date of attack1 Oct 1942Nationality:      Dutch
 
FateSunk by U-202 (Günter Poser)
Position9° 06'N, 59° 48'W - Grid EO 1465
Complement36 (1 dead and 35 survivors).
Convoy
RouteGeorgetown, British Guiana (30 Sep) – Port of Spain, Trinidad 
Cargo1820 tons of sugar and general cargo 
History Completed in September 1906 
Notes on event

At 22.41 hours on 1 Oct 1942 the unescorted Achilles (Master Klaas de Jong) was hit on port side aft by one torpedo from U-202 while steaming on a zigzag course at 8 knots about 110 miles southeast of Trinidad. The explosion ignited the ammunition for the stern gun and blew off the stern completely, killing one of the six British gunners (the ship was armed with one 4in, two 20mm and four machine guns) and seriously injuring another. The second engineer and two crew members were also wounded. After the crew abandoned ship in a motorboat and a lifeboat, she was hit on starboard side amidships by a coup de grâce at 23.01 hours. The second explosion caused the ship to break up and sink rapidly. The survivors were not questioned by the Germans. The motorboat then took the other boat in tow and made landfall in the evening of the next day at Moruga, Trinidad.

 
On boardWe have details of 30 people who were on board


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