Cometa
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Cometa | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 3.794 tons | ||
| Completed | 1921 - Burmeister & Wain´s Maskin & Skibsbyggeri A/S, Copenhagen | ||
| Owner | Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskap A/S, Bergen | ||
| Homeport | Bergen | ||
| Date of attack | 26 Mar, 1940 | Nationality:  Norwegian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-38 (Heinrich Liebe) | ||
| Position | 60.06N, 04.36W - Grid AM 3292 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 37 (0 dead and 37 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Oslo - Kirkwall - Buenos Aires | ||
| Cargo | 3250 tons of general cargo | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 02.20 hours on 26 Mar, 1940, the Cometa was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-38 and broke in two. The stern sank immediately and the forepart was sunk by a second torpedo at 02.57 hours about 65 miles northwest of Noup Head. The illuminated Cometa had been spotted by the U-boat at 23.40 hours on 25 March and missed with a first torpedo. The vessel then stopped and the first mate was sent with the papers to the U-boat, but the task was difficult due to the high seas and the darkness. He told the commander that the ship had been ordered by the British to go to Kirkwall to be investigated. The 31 crewmembers and six Swedish passengers were ordered to abandon ship in one motorboat and two lifeboats before the ship was sunk by the U-boat. | ||
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