Ships hit by U-boats


Ganda

Portuguese Steam merchant



NameGanda
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage4,333 tons
Completed1907 - Flensburger Schiffsbau-Ges., Flensburg 
OwnerCompanhia Colonial de Navegação, Lisbon 
HomeportLoanda 
Date of attack20 Jun 1941Nationality:      Portuguese
 
FateSunk by U-123 (Reinhard Hardegen)
Position34° 10'N, 11° 40'W - Grid DJ 1169
Complement66 (5 dead and 61 survivors).
Convoy
RouteLisbon - Luanda, Angola - Mozambique 
CargoGeneral cargo, including port wine 
History Completed in April 1907 as Plauen for Deutsch-Australische DG, Hamburg. 1920 transferred to Britain and renamed City of Milan for Ellerman Lines Ltd, London. 1930 sold to Portugal and renamed Ganda
Notes on event

At 20.10 hours on 20 June 1941 the unescorted and neutral Ganda was hit near the engine room by one of two torpedoes from U-123 off Casablanca. After the crew abandoned ship, she was hit by a coup de grâce at 20.19 hours. When the ship settled but did not sink, the U-boat surfaced and sank her by gunfire. As the Germans approached the lifeboats for questioning they noticed their mistake of sinking a neutral ship and left. After the patrol the war diary was altered upon order of the BdU.

The second officer, the chief engineer, a crewman and two passengers were lost and 19 others wounded. The master, 46 crew members and 14 passengers abandoned ship in a motorboat and a lifeboat. The 26 occupants of the lifeboat were picked up by a ship and landed in Lisbon on 22 June. The 42 occupants of the motorboat were later picked up by a Spanish trawler about 300 miles from the coast and landed at Huelva.

 


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