Oilfield
British Motor tanker
Photo courtesy of Danish Maritime Museum, Elsinore
| Name | Oilfield | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 8,516 tons | ||
| Completed | 1938 - Odense Staalskibsværft ved A.P. Møller, Odense | ||
| Owner | Hunting & Son Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne | ||
| Homeport | Newcastle | ||
| Date of attack | 28 Apr 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) | ||
| Position | 60° 05'N, 17° 00'W - Grid AL 3437 | ||
| Complement | 55 (47 dead and 8 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | HX-121 | ||
| Route | Aruba - Halifax - London | ||
| Cargo | 11,700 tons of benzine | ||
| History | Completed in February 1938 | ||
| Notes on event | At 19.25 hours on 28 April 1941, U-96 fired three single torpedoes at three tankers in convoy HX-121 south of Iceland and reported the sinking of two tankers with 18,000 tons and damaging another with 6000 tons after observing three hits. The tankers Oilfield and the Caledonia were sunk and the freighter Port Hardy was hit and sunk after the torpedo had missed the intended target. The Oilfield (Master Lawrence Robert Andersen) caught fire immediately and burned until she broke in two and sank the next day in 60°06N/16°06W. The master, 44 crew members and two gunners were lost. Six crew members and two gunners were picked up by HMS St. Zeno (FY 280) (Lt J.K. Craig, RNVR) and landed at Londonderry. Lawrence Robert Andersen was the commodore of the fleet of Hunting & Son Ltd. | ||
| On board | We have details of 47 people who were on board. | ||
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