General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: \'Liseta\' and \'U-245\'
Posted by:
Visje
()
Date: November 18, 2001 08:08AM
<HTML>Hi Ben,
I have some information regarding the Liseta. The following extract is from K.W.L. Bezemer "Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse Koopvaardij in de Tweede Wereldoorlog". The title is a mouthful, but well worth the money if you can read Dutch.
"...the small tanker Liseta of the Curaçaose Scheepvaart Mij left on 13 February 1945 from London to Antwerp around 1520 hours that day. The ship was under command of captain P. Buisman, but also on board was captain Potjer, captain of the Dutch hospitalship "Oranje", going home to see his family in Holland. The cargo consisted of a full load of gasoline.
After departure, the ship was assigned an anchorage and waited for further instructions. These were received the next dy, after which the convoy the Liseta was now part of steamed to an anchorage near Margate. Here, word was received that the departure had been scheduled for 0220 hours on the 15th.
Anchor was weighed at 0230 hours that day, but three minutes later, the ship was jolted by a violent explosion. A torpedo had hit in the engine room (port quarter), and the ship immediately started to settle by the stern. Captain Buisman immediately ordered to abandon ship. Only one lifeboat could be lowered, and a raft. In the boat were the captain, Potjer, 1st and 2nd mate, the telegrapher, a recruit-engineer, 4 gunners and 15 Chinese deckpersonnel. On the raft were the 3rd mate and 3 Chinese. The men were lucky the cargo didn't ignite.
After several hours, the British destroyer HMS Holderness picked up the survivors from the boat and raft, and also picked up a gunner and a Chinese from the water. But the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th engineer had been killed, in addition to a recruit-engineer and nine Chinese. One of the heavily-wounded gunners died aboard the destroyers, so casualty number rose to 16 on a crew of 46.
My source mentions that the Liseta had been hit by a torpedo from a midget-submarine, the "Seehund"-type U-5332. These boats had a two-man crew, this time navigator Wolter and engineer Monetzke. They were waiting in the night of 14 and 15 February 1945 in the Thames near Margate, when they saw a "Küstendampfer" (coaster). When they made it to safety, they saw the deck between the stern and bridge underwater.
Although the Liseta was heavily damaged, she sank in shallow water and could later be raised and repaired. This ship, completed in 1927, continued service until 1956, when she was sold.
Rohwer apparently lists the following: Liseta, torpedoed by U-245 in convoy TAM-80 (2640 gross tons). I don't have the KTBs, so I can't say anything final about it.
Leaves only to say that Liseta was one of 5 Dutch tankers sent from the West Indies to Britain in June 1940 for use in the coastal waters.</HTML>
I have some information regarding the Liseta. The following extract is from K.W.L. Bezemer "Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse Koopvaardij in de Tweede Wereldoorlog". The title is a mouthful, but well worth the money if you can read Dutch.
"...the small tanker Liseta of the Curaçaose Scheepvaart Mij left on 13 February 1945 from London to Antwerp around 1520 hours that day. The ship was under command of captain P. Buisman, but also on board was captain Potjer, captain of the Dutch hospitalship "Oranje", going home to see his family in Holland. The cargo consisted of a full load of gasoline.
After departure, the ship was assigned an anchorage and waited for further instructions. These were received the next dy, after which the convoy the Liseta was now part of steamed to an anchorage near Margate. Here, word was received that the departure had been scheduled for 0220 hours on the 15th.
Anchor was weighed at 0230 hours that day, but three minutes later, the ship was jolted by a violent explosion. A torpedo had hit in the engine room (port quarter), and the ship immediately started to settle by the stern. Captain Buisman immediately ordered to abandon ship. Only one lifeboat could be lowered, and a raft. In the boat were the captain, Potjer, 1st and 2nd mate, the telegrapher, a recruit-engineer, 4 gunners and 15 Chinese deckpersonnel. On the raft were the 3rd mate and 3 Chinese. The men were lucky the cargo didn't ignite.
After several hours, the British destroyer HMS Holderness picked up the survivors from the boat and raft, and also picked up a gunner and a Chinese from the water. But the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th engineer had been killed, in addition to a recruit-engineer and nine Chinese. One of the heavily-wounded gunners died aboard the destroyers, so casualty number rose to 16 on a crew of 46.
My source mentions that the Liseta had been hit by a torpedo from a midget-submarine, the "Seehund"-type U-5332. These boats had a two-man crew, this time navigator Wolter and engineer Monetzke. They were waiting in the night of 14 and 15 February 1945 in the Thames near Margate, when they saw a "Küstendampfer" (coaster). When they made it to safety, they saw the deck between the stern and bridge underwater.
Although the Liseta was heavily damaged, she sank in shallow water and could later be raised and repaired. This ship, completed in 1927, continued service until 1956, when she was sold.
Rohwer apparently lists the following: Liseta, torpedoed by U-245 in convoy TAM-80 (2640 gross tons). I don't have the KTBs, so I can't say anything final about it.
Leaves only to say that Liseta was one of 5 Dutch tankers sent from the West Indies to Britain in June 1940 for use in the coastal waters.</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
\'Liseta\' and \'U-245\'
|
Ben Newton | 11/17/2001 04:38PM |
|
Re: \'Liseta\' and \'U-245\'
|
Visje | 11/18/2001 08:08AM |
|
Re: \'Liseta\' and \'U-245\'
|
Antonio Veiga | 11/18/2001 07:24PM |
|
Re: \'Liseta\' and \'U-245\'
|
Ben Newton | 11/18/2001 07:44PM |
|
Re: Liseta and U-245
|
Rainer Kolbicz | 11/18/2001 11:11PM |