Britannia
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| Name | Britannia | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 9.977 tons | ||
| Completed | 1939 - Deutsche Werft AG, Betrieb Finkenwärder, Hamburg | ||
| Owner | The Texas Co (Norway) A/S, Oslo | ||
| Homeport | Oslo | ||
| Date of attack | 5 Oct, 1943 | Nationality:  Norwegian | |
| Fate | Damaged by U-188 (Siegfried Lüdden) | ||
| Position | 24.21N, 58.02E - Grid MF 2642 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | ? men (0 dead and ? survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Durban - Persian Gulf | ||
| Cargo | Ballast | ||
| History | On 20 Sep, 1942, the 2nd Mate Henning Waagsnes from the Britannia saved the lives of two American sailors on the tanker West Nohno at Suez, when he went into a tank and hoisted them up after they had succumbed to gas poisioning while cleaning the tank without gas masks. A third man died, in spite of Waagsnes´ subsequent efforts to revive him for two hours. As a reward he received a gift of binoculars from President Roosevelt. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 22.30 hours on 5 Oct, 1943, the Britannia (Master Karsten Hallén) was torpedoed and badly damaged by U-188 (Lüdden). All crew members survived and the tanker reached Bandar Abbas on the evening of the next day. She was examined by the master and the 1st mate William Taxt in swimming trunks and it was discovered that she was barely hanging together. The master gave orders for the two parts to be sewn together and before they took her to Bombay for more repairs the master had earned the nickname The crazy Norwegian from the British naval authorities after they had inspected the improvised repairs (all manner of wire and chains had been used). She was temporarily repaired in a dock in Bombay before she departed on 19 December for Abadan, where she loaded a cargo of 6000 tons of oil in the undamaged tanks. On 2 Jan, 1944, she was on her way out from the Persian Gulf, when she picked up 72 men from the American Liberty ship Albert Gallatin, which had been sunk by the Japanese submarine I-26 in 21.21N/59.58E that same morning. They were brought to Aden, while Britannia continued with her cargo to Neapel, before heading for Baltimore, where she arrived in March for permanent repairs. | ||
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