Roanoke
American Steam merchant
Roanoke with Pan Royal in the background
| Name | Roanoke | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 2,606 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - Detroit Ship Building Co, Wyandotte MI | ||
| Owner | US Army Transport Service | ||
| Homeport | Norfolk | ||
| Date of attack | 11 Jan 1945 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-1055 (Rudolf Meyer) | ||
| Position | 53° 19'N, 4° 48'W - Grid AM 9252 | ||
| Complement | 63 (4 dead and 59 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Antwerp - Thames River - Belfast - New York | ||
| Cargo | Ballast | ||
| 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 board | We have details of 10 people who were on board. | ||
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