Sembilangan
Dutch Steam merchant
Photo courtesy of arendnet.com
| Name | Sembilangan | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 4,990 tons | ||
| Completed | 1923 - Deutsche Werft AG, Betrieb Finkenwärder, Hamburg | ||
| Owner | NV Stoomvaart Mij ´Nederland´, Amsterdam | ||
| Homeport | Batavia | ||
| Date of attack | 13 Mar 1943 | Nationality:  Dutch | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-107 (Harald Gelhaus) | ||
| Position | 42° 45'N, 13° 31'W - Grid CG 1218 | ||
| Complement | 87 (86 dead and 1 survivor). | ||
| Convoy | OS-44 | ||
| Route | Liverpool (6 Mar) - Belfast Lough - Walvis Bay - Saldanha Bay - Port Said - Alexandria | ||
| Cargo | 6457 tons of general cargo and military stores, including ammunition | ||
| History | Completed in March 1923 as German Wasgenwald for Hamburg-Amerika Linie (HAPAG), Hamburg. On 10 May 1940, seized by the Netherlands at Sabang and renamed Sembilangan. | ||
| Notes on event | At 05.30 hours on 13 March 1943, U-107 attacked convoy OS-44 190 miles west of Cape Finisterre and reported hits on three ships. In fact, four ships were hit, the Clan Alpine, Marcella, Oporto and Sembilangan. The Sembilangan (Master Pieter Maarten Leguit) in station #92 was hit by one torpedo that ignited the cargo of ammunition and the ship disintegrated. The fourth engineer was blown overboard, rescued himself on a raft from Oporto and was picked up by HMS Spiraea (K 08) (Lt A.H. Pierce, OBE, RNR) as the only survivor. The master, 75 crew members and ten British gunners were lost. | ||
| On board | We have details of 87 people who were on board. | ||
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