Richard Henderson
American Steam merchant
Name | Richard Henderson | ||
Type: | Steam merchant (Liberty) | ||
Tonnage | 7,194 tons | ||
Completed | 1943 - Permanente Metals Corp, Richmond CA | ||
Owner | US Lines Inc, New York | ||
Homeport | San Francisco | ||
Date of attack | 26 Aug 1943 | Nationality: American | |
Fate | Sunk by U-410 (Horst-Arno Fenski) | ||
Position | 37° 15'N, 8° 24'E - Grid CJ 7826 | ||
Complement | 70 (0 dead and 70 survivors). | ||
Convoy | UGS-14 | ||
Route | Philadelphia - Hampton Roads, Virginia (6 Aug) - Persian Gulf - Bandar Shahpur, Iran | ||
Cargo | 5000 tons of general war cargo and high explosives | ||
History | Completed in February 1943 | ||
Notes on event | At 22.16 hours on 26 Aug 1943, U-410 fired a spread of three torpedoes at convoy UGS-14 about 35 miles northeast of Bone, Algeria, heard three hits and reported two ships sunk and another damaged. In fact, the John Bell and Richard Henderson were sunk. The Richard Henderson (Master Lawrence Joseph Silk) had been in station #43, but changed to station #22 in the afternoon as convoy was reformed into four columns to pass through minefields. The ship was struck by one torpedo on the starboard side, aft of the #5 hatch. The explosion destroyed the quarters of the gun crew, blew away the rudder and screw and flooded the engine room. As the vessel began to settle slowly by the stern, the engines were secured and the eight officers, 34 crewmen and 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with two 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in six lifeboats. The ship sank by the stern after five hours. | ||
On board | We have details of 2 people who were on board. |
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