Vidar
Danish Steam merchant
Photo courtesy of Danish Maritime Museum, Elsinore
| Name | Vidar | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 1,353 tons | ||
| Completed | 1915 - Burmeister & Wain´s Maskin & Skibsbyggeri A/S, Copenhagen | ||
| Owner | Det Forenede D/S (DFDS), Copenhagen | ||
| Homeport | Esbjerg | ||
| Date of attack | 31 Jan 1940 | Nationality:  Danish | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-21 (Wolf-Harro Stiebler) | ||
| Position | 58° 39'N, 2° 00'E - Grid AN 4245 | ||
| Complement | 34 (16 dead and 18 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Grimsby - Tyne - Esbjerg | ||
| Cargo | Steel bars | ||
| History | Completed in May 1915 | ||
| Notes on event | At 19.54 hours on 31 Jan 1940 the unescorted and neutral Vidar was hit aft by a G7e torpedo from U-21 about 100 miles east of the Moray Firth and sank the next day. At 19.48 hours, the U-boat had fired a G7a torpedo that became a surface runner and detonated near the ship, which stopped. A second torpedo had been fired two minutes later, but did not run due to an operating error. The Danish steam merchant Disko, which picked up the survivors from Vidar, was attacked with a G7e torpedo at 20.11 hours, but it also became a surface runner that detonated without damaging the ship. | ||
| On board | We have details of 15 people who were on board. | ||
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