Maid of Orleans
British Landing Ship Infantry
| Name | Maid of Orleans | ||
| Type: | Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) | ||
| Tonnage | 2,385 tons | ||
| Completed | 1918 - William Denny & Brothers Ltd, Dumbarton | ||
| Owner | Southern Railway Co, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 28 Jun 1944 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by unknown | ||
| Position | 50° 06'N, 0° 41'W - Grid BF 3278 | ||
| Complement | 98 (6 dead and 92 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | FXP-18 | ||
| Route | Normandy - Portsmouth | ||
| Cargo | Ballast | ||
| History | Laid down as cross channel ferry for South Eastern & Chatham Railway Co, London. Requisitioned by the Admiralty as troop transport and completed in August 1918. 1919 returned to the owners. 1923 transferred to Southern Railway Co, London. 1939 requisitioned again and used as troop transport for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and in the evacuations of Rotterdam and Dunkirk. On 1 Jun 1940, the Maid of Orleans was returning from her sixth voyage to Dunkirk (having rescued over 5000 men) when badly damaged in a collision with HMS Worcester (D 96) (Cdr J.H. Allison, RN) which was returning from Dunkirk after being badly damaged by German bombers. 1942/43 converted to a Landing Ship Infantry LSI(H) and took part in the Normandy landings. | ||
| Notes on event | At 21.30 hours on 28 June 1944, Maid of Orleans (Master Herbert L. Payne) in convoy FXP-18 was damaged by an explosion and sank after 30 minutes southeast of St. Catherine´s Point, Isle of Wight. The ship had brought troops to the Normandy beachheads and was on her return trip. Five crew members were lost. The master, 72 crew members, 18 gunners and two passengers (Observer Corps personnel) were picked up by HMS Hotham (K 583) (A/LtCdr S. Ayles, RNR), HMS Eglinton (L 87) (LtCdr F.M. Graves, RN) and the British tug Empire Roger and landed at Portsmouth, where one crew member died of injuries in a hospital. | ||
| Revisions | October 2015 by Rainer Kolbicz: The discovery of the wreck of U-988 showed that it could not have been responsible for the sinking of Maid of Orleans. It is presently not known which U-boat carried out the attack. | ||
| On board | We have details of 7 people who were on board. | ||
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