Westpool
British Steam merchant
US Naval Historical Center Photograph #NH65081
| Name | Westpool | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,724 tons | ||
| Completed | 1918 - J.F. Duthie & Co, Seattle WA | ||
| Owner | Campbell Brothers & Co, Newcastle-upon-Tyne | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 3 Apr 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-73 (Helmut Rosenbaum) | ||
| Position | 58° 12'N, 27° 40'W - Grid AK 3687 | ||
| Complement | 43 (35 dead and 8 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | SC-26 | ||
| Route | Baltimore - Halifax - Leith | ||
| Cargo | 7144 tons of scrap iron | ||
| History | Ordered as Petain for US Shipping Board (USSB), launched and completed as Westpool in October 1918. In early November 1918 acquired by the US Navy as cargo transport USS Westpool (ID # 3675) for the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, making her maiden voyage to the US East Coast via the Panama Canal. In February 1919 she left New York for Belgium and Great Britain loaded with Army cargo and after returning was decommissioned and handed over to the US Shipping Board on 31 Mar 1919. Westpool was laid up as part of the reserve fleet with intermittent commercial service until 1941 when the ship was transferred to Britain and taken over by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). | ||
| Notes on event | At 05.08 hours on 3 April 1941 the Westpool (Master William Stafford) in convoy SC-26 was hit by one torpedo from U-73 and sank in less than one minute south-southwest of Reykjavik. The master, 33 crew members and one gunner were lost. Eight crew members were picked up by HMS Havelock (H 88) (Cdr E.H. Thomas, DSC, RN) and landed at Liverpool on 9 April. | ||
| On board | We have details of 35 people who were on board. | ||
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