Ships hit by U-boats


Southern Princess

British Whale factory ship



NameSouthern Princess
Type:Whale factory ship
Tonnage12,156 tons
Completed1915 - Sir W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
OwnerChristian Salvesen & Co, Edinburgh 
HomeportLondon 
Date of attack17 Mar 1943Nationality:      British
 
FateSunk by U-600 (Bernhard Zurmühlen)
Position50° 36'N, 34° 30'W - Grid BD 1361
Complement100 (4 dead and 96 survivors).
ConvoyHX-229
RouteNew York (8 Mar) - Clyde 
Cargo10,053 tons of heavy fuel oil and a deck cargo of 463 tons of locomotives and landing craft 
History Completed in May 1915 as steam tanker San Patricio for Eagle Oil Transport Co Ltd, London. 1929 converted to the whale factory ship Southern Princess for Southern Whaling & Sealing Co Ltd, Liverpool. 
Notes on event

At 05.56 hours on 17 March 1943, U-600 fired a spread of four FAT torpedoes at convoy HX-229 southeast of Cape Farewell and observed a hit amidships on the Nariva in station #91 and two on the Irénée Du Pont in station #81. A further detonation was heard, this was the hit on the Southern Princess in station #72, which caught fire and sank during the morning. At 05.58 hours, the stern torpedo was fired and was seen to hit another freighter amidships, which sank after 10 minutes, but this can not be confirmed from Allied sources.

Two crew members and two passengers from Southern Princess (Master H. Neilson) were lost. The master, 61 crew members, seven gunners and 27 passengers (DBS) were picked up by the British steam merchant Tekoa and landed at Liverpool.

 
On boardWe have details of 6 people who were on board


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