Ships hit by U-boats


Castle Harbour

British Steam merchant


We don't have a picture of this vessel at this time.


NameCastle Harbour
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage730 tons
Completed1929 - Blythswood Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Glasgow 
OwnerBermuda & West Indies SS Co, Hamilton, Bermuda 
HomeportHamilton 
Date of attack16 Oct 1942Nationality:      British
 
FateSunk by U-160 (Georg Lassen)
Position11° 00'N, 61° 10'W - Grid ED 9954
Complement23 (9 dead and 14 survivors).
ConvoyTRIN-19
RoutePort of Spain, Trinidad (16 Oct) – Recife, Pernambuco 
CargoBallast 
History

Completed in October 1929 as Mid-Ocean for Furness, Withy & Co Ltd, Liverpool. 1930 renamed Castle Harbour and served as passenger tender for Bermuda & West Indies SS Co, Hamilton.

 
Notes on event

At 21.20 hours on 16 Oct 1942, U-160 fired torpedoes from the starboard side at convoy TRIN-19 50 miles east-northeast of Trinidad. One torpedo struck the Castle Harbour in station #81, which lost her bow and sank within 20 seconds and another struck 30 seconds later the Winona in station #72, which was damaged but reached Port of Spain under own power.

The Castle Harbour (Master Francis Theaker) was hit under the bridge by the torpedo, broke in two and sank so fast that most of the survivors just found themselves swimming in the water after the explosion and clung to wreckage as no boats or rafts floated off the ship. Nine crew members were lost. The master and 13 crew members (the ship was armed with one 3in, four machine guns and 16 depth charges) were picked up by the American submarine chaser USS SC-503 and landed at Port of Spain, where the master and two other seriously injured men were admitted to the hospital.

 
On boardWe have details of 13 people who were on board


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