Viking Star
British Steam merchant
| Name | Viking Star | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 6,445 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - Napier & Miller Ltd, Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow | ||
| Owner | Blue Star Line Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 25 Aug 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-130 (Ernst Kals) | ||
| Position | 6° 00'N, 14° 00'W - Grid ET 6446 | ||
| Complement | 60 (8 dead and 52 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Buenos Aires - Montevideo (9 Aug) - Freetown - UK | ||
| Cargo | 4519 tons of refrigerated cargo and 200 tons of fertilisers | ||
| History | Launched as War Peony, completed in November 1919 as Lusiada for The Blue Star Line, Rio de Janeiro. 1920 renamed Vikingstar for Blue Star Line, London. 1929 renamed Viking Star for the same owner. | ||
| Notes on event | At 19.44 hours on 25 August 1942 the unescorted Viking Star (Master James Edward Mills) was hit by two torpedoes from U-130 about 160 miles south-southwest of Freetown and sank after being hit amidships by a coup de grâce at 20.35 hours. The master and six crew members were lost. 32 crew members and four gunners made landfall after six days near Bonthe, Sierra Leone. 16 other crew members on rafts reached the coasts of Sierra Leone and Liberia within 18 days, but one gunner drowned whilst attempting to reach the shore from a raft on 4 September. | ||
| More info | |||
| On board | We have details of 9 people who were on board. | ||
If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us.