Pacific Grove
British Motor merchant
Photo courtesy of State Library of New South Wales
| Name | Pacific Grove | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 7,117 tons | ||
| Completed | 1928 - Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel | ||
| Owner | Furness, Withy & Co Ltd, Liverpool | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 12 Apr 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-563 (Götz von Hartmann) | ||
| Position | 54° 10'N, 30° 00'W - Grid AK 6721 | ||
| Complement | 67 (11 dead and 56 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | HX-232 | ||
| Route | New York (1 Apr) - Halifax - Glasgow | ||
| Cargo | 8684 tons of general cargo, including diesel oil | ||
| History | Completed in April 1928 | ||
| Notes on event | Between 04.38 and 04.46 hours on 12 April 1943, U-563 (von Hartmann) fired torpedoes at convoy HX-232 southeast of Cape Farewell and reported three ships sunk and one damaged. The Pacific Grove and Ulysses were sunk and the Fresno City was damaged (later finished off by U-706). At 08.42 hours, U-168 (Pich) observed a burning tanker and U-706 (Zitzewitz) reported a burning vessel being sunk by an escort vessel, probably one of the ships hit by U-563. Ten crew members and one gunner from the Pacific Grove (Master Evan William Pritchard) were lost. The master, 38 crew members, one gunner and 16 passengers were picked up by HMS Azalea (K 25) (Lt G.C. Geddes, RNR) and landed at Gourock. | ||
| On board | We have details of 12 people who were on board. | ||
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