Astrell
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| Name | Astrell | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 7.595 tons | ||
| Completed | 1925 - Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Dundee | ||
| Owner | Prebensen & Blakstad, Risør | ||
| Homeport | Risør | ||
| Date of attack | 5 Nov, 1942 | Nationality:  Norwegian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-129 (Hans-Ludwig Witt) | ||
| Position | 12.21N, 69.21W - Grid EC 9296 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 43 (1 dead and 42 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | TAG-18 | ||
| Route | Trinidad - New York - UK | ||
| Cargo | 10500 tons of fuel oil | ||
| History | Built as British Athelchief, 1938 sold Norway and renamed Astrell | ||
| Notes on loss | At 08.11 hours on 5 Nov, 1942, U-129 fired two stern torpedoes at two tankers in the convoy TAG-18 and claimed both as sunk, but the torpedoes both struck the Astrell (Master Nils C. Taraldsen), which caught fire and was abandoned. One British gunner died in the attack. Later the HNMS Van Kinsbergen shelled and sank the tanker about 15 miles off North Point, Curaçao. 20 survivors were picked up by the Dutch MTB HNMS TM-23 and the 22 others probably by the Dutch MTB HNMS TM-24 or another escort vessel. They were all taken to Curaçao the same day. | ||
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