Yewcrest
British Steam merchant
Yewcrest under her former name Ivo Racic. Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Yewcrest | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 3,774 tons | ||
| Completed | 1907 - J. Readhead & Sons, South Shields | ||
| Owner | Crest Shipping Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 25 Aug 1940 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-37 (Victor Oehrn) | ||
| Position | 55° 10'N, 25° 02'W - Grid AL 4572 | ||
| Complement | 39 (1 dead and 38 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | OB-201 (straggler) | ||
| Route | Cardiff - Liverpool - Wabana | ||
| Cargo | Ballast | ||
| History | Built as Dan 1917 renamed Gerolamo Ulloa 1924 renamed Dan 1924 sold to Yugoslavia and renamed Ivo Racic for Jugoslavenski Lloyd Akcionarsko Drustvo, Zagreb. 1940 taken over by Britain, transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Yewcrest. | ||
| Notes on event | Around 22.30 hours on 25 Aug 1940, U-37 opened fire with the deck gun at the Yewcrest (Master Cyril Lionel Doughty), a straggler from convoy OB-201, after following the ship for more than two hours through rain squalls and haze southwest of Iceland. A hit between the stack and the hatch was observed before the U-boat was forced to cease fire and had to turn away due to return fire from the ship. The Germans then began shelling her from ahead, but the crew soon stopped and abandoned the ship. The vessel sank in flames at 03.07 hours on 26 August. One crew member was lost. The master, 36 crew members and one gunner were picked up by HMS Highlander (H 44) (Cdr W.A. Dallmeyer). | ||
| On board | We have details of 3 people who were on board. | ||
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