Ships hit by U-boats


Poelau Roebiah

Dutch Motor merchant



Photo courtesy of arendnet.com

NamePoelau Roebiah
Type:Motor merchant
Tonnage9,251 tons
Completed1928 - NV Rotterdamsche Droogdok Mij, Rotterdam 
OwnerNV Stoomvaart Mij ´Nederland´, Amsterdam 
HomeportBatavia 
Date of attack6 Jul 1943Nationality:      Dutch
 
FateSunk by U-759 (Rudolf Friedrich)
Position17° 56'N, 75° 57'W - Grid EC 1183
Complement114 (2 dead and 112 survivors).
ConvoyZG-36
RouteBombay - Cristobal (3 Jul) - Guantanamo Bay - Baltimore 
Cargo8100 tons of manganese ore and 100 tons of copper concentrates 
History Completed in December 1928 
Notes on event

At 20.05 hours on 6 July 1943 the Poelau Roebiah (Master Johannes Hendrikus Hoogendijk) in station #31 of convoy ZG-36 was hit on port quarter by one torpedo from U-759 while steaming at 8 knots in clear weather with a moderate swell about 13 miles east of Morant Point, Jamaica. The torpedo struck between after peak and #6 hatch and although the watertight door was closed in the propeller tunnel, the engine room was making water and caused the ship to settle slowly by the stern on an even keel. The most of the 66 crew members, 25 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and 23 US passengers on board abandoned ship in four lifeboats after sending a distress signal. The occupants of two lifeboats spotted the periscope of the U-boat in a distance of about 80 yards, which was shortly thereafter attacked by an aircraft with two depth charges and followed by two dropped by USCGC Bronco (WYP 340) without results. All life rafts floated free when Poelau Roebiah sank by the stern at 21.03 hours. Two crew members were lost. All survivors were picked up by the escorts of convoy within two hours: the master and 23 survivors were picked up from a lifeboat that was fitted with a radio transmitter by USS PC-1253 and landed at Guantanamo on 7 July. The remaining survivors, including all passengers and seven hospital cases, were picked up from the three other boats by USCGC Brono and landed at Kingston, Jamaica.

 
On boardWe have details of 46 people who were on board


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