Fort la Reine
British Steam merchant
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| Name | Fort la Reine | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant (North Sands) | ||
| Tonnage | 7,133 tons | ||
| Completed | 1942 - Burrard Dry Dock Co, North Vancouver | ||
| Owner | Joseph Constantine SS Line Ltd, Middlesbrough | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 17 Aug 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-658 (Hans Senkel) | ||
| Position | 18° 30'N, 75° 20'W - Grid DN 7892 | ||
| Complement | 44 (3 dead and 41 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | PG-6 | ||
| Route | Vancouver - Cristobal (13 Aug) - Guantanamo Bay - Halifax - London | ||
| Cargo | 5200 tons of general cargo and 4100 tons of grain and lumber | ||
| History | Completed July 1942, with the Hull built by Vancouver Dry Dock Co, for US War Shipping Administration (WSA), lend-leased on bareboat charter to British Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). | ||
| Notes on event | At 06.19 on 17 August 1942, U-658 fired a spread of two torpedoes at convoy PG-6 in the Windward Passage west of Haiti and hit the Fort la Reine with the first torpedo after 3 minutes 50 seconds and observed the ship sinking after eight minutes. The second torpedo hit the Laguna after 4 minutes 10 seconds and Senkel reported the sinking of this ship, but could not observe it. The master, 36 crew members and four gunners from the Fort la Reine (Master Percy William Pennock), which was on her maiden voyage, were rescued: 29 survivors by the HMS Pimpernel (K 71) (LtCdr F.H. Thornton, RNR) and landed at Guantanamo Bay and 12 survivors rescued by a US patrol boat landed at New Orleans. Three crew members were lost. | ||
| On board | We have details of 4 people who were on board. | ||
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