City of Pretoria
Photo courtesy of the Allen Collection
| Name | City of Pretoria | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 8,049 tons | ||
| Completed | 1937 - Cammell Laird & Co Ltd, Birkenhead | ||
| Owner | Ellerman & Bucknall SS Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 4 Mar 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-172 (Carl Emmermann) | ||
| Position | 41.45N, 42.30W - Grid CD 3239 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 145 (145 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | New York (27 Feb) - Holyhead - Liverpool | ||
| Cargo | 7032 tons of general cargo and explosives | ||
| History | Completed in December 1937 | ||
| Notes on loss | At 06.09 hours on 4 Mar, 1943, the unescorted City of Pretoria (Master Frank Deighton OBE) was hit by two of three torpedoes from U-172 and sank after a heavy explosion west-northwest of the Azores. The master, 108 crew members, 24 gunners, seven passengers (DBS) and 5 apprentices were lost. One of the passengers was the third officer J. Whyte who had survived 51 days in a lifeboat after the sinking of City of Cairo by U-68 (Merten) on 6 Nov, 1942. | ||
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