Ships hit by U-boats


Roanoke

American Steam merchant



Roanoke with Pan Royal in the background

NameRoanoke
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage2,606 tons
Completed1919 - Detroit Ship Building Co, Wyandotte MI 
OwnerUS Army Transport Service 
HomeportNorfolk 
Date of attack11 Jan 1945Nationality:      American
 
FateSunk by U-1055 (Rudolf Meyer)
Position53° 19'N, 4° 48'W - Grid AM 9252
Complement63 (4 dead and 59 survivors).
Convoy
RouteAntwerp - Thames River - Belfast - New York 
CargoBallast 
History Built as Lake Glasco for US Shipping Board 1932 sold to Merchants & Miners Transportation Co, Baltimore MD and renamed Roanoke. 1942 requisitioned as refrigerator ship by the US Army Transport Service (USATS). 
Notes on event

Between 16.10 and 16.40 hours on 11 Jan 1945, U-1055 attacked some ships from a just dispersed coastal convoy in the Irish Sea west of Anglesey and reported two ships sunk. A first torpedo exploded behind the Yugoslavian steam merchant Senga, while other torpedoes sank the Roanoke and Normandy Coast.

The Roanoke was struck by one torpedo between the #4 hold and the stern, which was blown off by the explosion. The #3 and #4 hatches were blown out and the crew quarters, radio shack and the machinery were destroyed. She sank by the stern within three minutes although the bow remained on the surface for about one hour. Two crew members and two armed guards were lost. The survivors among the 38 crew members and 25 armed guards on board abandoned ship in two lifeboats and one raft and were picked up after about three hours by the Senga and the British patrol ship HMS PC-74 and landed at Holyhead on 11 and 12 January.

 
On boardWe have details of 10 people who were on board


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