Ships hit by U-boats


Olga E. Embiricos

Greek Steam merchant



Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart

NameOlga E. Embiricos
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage4,677 tons
Completed1922 - J. Readhead & Sons Ltd, South Shields 
OwnerConstantine E. Embiricos, Athens 
HomeportAndros 
Date of attack29 Jan 1944Nationality:      Greek
 
FateSunk by U-188 (Siegfried Lüdden)
Position12° 30'N, 50° 10'E - Grid MP 5979
Complement41 (20 dead and 21 survivors).
ConvoyCB-7 (dispersed)
RouteDurban (13 Jan) - Aden – Massowah, Eritrea 
Cargo6900 tons of coal 
History Completed in January 1922 as British Bellview for Neotsfield Ship Co Ltd (J. Bell & Co), Hull. In January 1933 sold to Greece and renamed Olga E. Embiricos. Since 1941 in Admiralty service as Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) collier. 
Notes on event

At 22.07 hours on 29 Jan 1944 the unescorted Olga E. Embiricos (Michael L. Manesis), dispersed from convoy CB-7, was hit on the port side in #2 hold by one torpedo from U-188 while steaming on a non-evasive course at 9 knots about 210 miles west of Socotra in the Gulf of Aden. The ship capsized after two minutes and sank at 22.12 hours. The master, 17 crew members and two gunners (the ship was armed with one 4in, two 20mm and two machine guns) were lost. The U-boat surfaced shortly afterwards to question the survivors, but left after only 10 minutes when a survivor on a raft answered in French that he did not understand. The Germans made no further efforts to interrogate the other survivors, so they misidentified the ship as the Giorgios M. Embiricos. On 30 January, the survivors were picked up by the British steam merchant Dramatist that had been in the same convoy and were taken to Aden.

 
On boardWe have details of 21 people who were on board


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