Italian submarine fates
Ships hit by Italian submarines
Andreas
| Type | Cargo ship | |||
| Country |  Greek | |||
| Built | 1919 | GRT | 6,566 | |
| Date of attack | 4 Nov 1942 | Time | 2340?-2400 2300 GMT (e) | |
| Fate | Sunk by submarine Leonardo da Vinci (T.V. Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia) | |||
| Position of attack | 1° 10'S, 29° 57'W | |||
| Complement | 49 (20 dead and 29 survivors) | |||
| Convoy | ||||
| Notes | At 1730 hours, a smoke was sighted on the horizon. It appeared to be a steamer zigzagging at 9 knots on a 130° course. At 2208 hours, a torpedo (450mm, W 200 type) was fired from a stern tube at a distance of 700 metres. It missed. The torpedo wake was not observed from the submarine but it had obviously been seen by the target as she made an SOS at 2210 hours. This was the Greek Andreas (6,566 GRT, built 1919) bound from Trinidad for Alexandria via Capetown with 8,500 tons of military supplies. At 2304 hours, the attack was renewed with two torpedoes (533mm, S.I. type) from the bow tubes at a range of 400 metres. One used a magnetic pistol of the S.I.C. type, the other used a standard pistol. They both missed. At 2330 hours, the vessel made an SOS: "SSS 1°30' S 2°23' W Gunned submarine Andreas at 2200 GMT". At 2340 hours, a fourth torpedo (450 mm, W 200 type) was fired from 700 metres and this time hit. The vessel was damaged but afloat. Da Vinci finished her off with gunfire and she sank at 0007 hours on 5th November. Of the crew of forty-one and eight passengers, five survivors were picked up by the submarine. They were: Chief Officer Spyros Andrea Phocas, Estonian salor Josep Meister, British sailor Richard Bradstow Kewley and gunners James Jones and Edward Boscall. Five other survivors reached Trinidad. On 10th November, a lifeboat with nineteen survivors landed near Ceara (Fortelaza). | |||