Ships hit by U-boats


City of Nagpur

British Steam passenger ship



NameCity of Nagpur
Type:Steam passenger ship
Tonnage10,146 tons
Completed1922 - Workman, Clark & Co Ltd, Belfast 
OwnerEllerman Lines Ltd, London 
HomeportGlasgow 
Date of attack29 Apr 1941Nationality:      British
 
FateSunk by U-75 (Helmuth Ringelmann)
Position52° 30'N, 26° 00'W - Grid AL 7421
Complement468 (17 dead and 451 survivors).
Convoy
RouteGlasgow - Freetown - Natal - Bombay - Karachi 
Cargo2184 tons of general cargo 
History Completed in September 1922 
Notes on event

At 02.29 hours on 29 April 1941 the unescorted City of Nagpur (Master David Llewellyn Lloyd) was hit on the starboard side by one G7e torpedo from U-75 about 600 miles west of Valentia Island, Ireland. The U-boat had spotted this ship and another merchant one day earlier, but then missed her with a first G7e torpedo at 06.08 hours and the other ship with a G7e torpedo at 13.14 hours. The City of Nagpur sent radio messages after being hit, but stopped when the Germans fired at her with machine guns. At 02.52 hours, the U-boat fired a stern torpedo, which was a dud. An attempt to set the ship on fire by gunfire was not successful, so a coup de grâce was fired at 03.33 hours, which hit on the port side and caused a list. The City of Nagpur sank by the stern one minute after being hit aft by a second coup de grâce at 06.00 hours.

15 crew members and one passenger were lost. The master, 170 crew members, eight gunners and 273 passengers were picked up by HMS Hurricane (H 06) (LtCdr H.C. Simms, RN) and landed at Greenock, where one crew member died of wounds in a hospital.

 
On boardWe have details of 20 people who were on board


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