Vancouver Island
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| Name | Vancouver Island | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 9.472 tons | ||
| Completed | 1929 - Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel | ||
| Owner | Merchant Marine Ltd, Ottawa | ||
| Homeport | Montreal | ||
| Date of attack | 15 Oct, 1941 | Nationality:  Canadian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-558 (Günther Krech) | ||
| Position | 53.37N, 25.37W - Grid AL 7123 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 105 (105 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Montreal (24 Sep) - Quebec City (9 Oct) - Sydney - Belfast - Cardiff | ||
| Cargo | 3132 tons of general cargo, 993 tons of copper, 751 tons of aluminum, 450 tons of zinc, 357 tons of asbestos and 87 tons of steel | ||
| History | built as Sud Americano, 1930 renamed Yakima Star, 1934 rebuilt, lengthened and renamed Weser for Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen. In 1940 the Weser served as supply ship for the German raider Orion (HSK 1) in the Pacific and on 25 September was captured by the HMCS Prince Robert (F 56) (Cdr C.T. Beard) off Manzanillo, Mexico and brought to Esquimalt by a prize crew. On 19 October, the ship was taken over by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and handed over to Merchant Marine Ltd, Ottawa. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 22.49 hours on 15 Oct, 1941, the unescorted Vancouver Island (Master Eric Lacey Roper) was torpedoed by U-558 west of Ireland and sank after being hit by two coups de grāce at 23.08 and 23.17 hours. The master, 64 crew members, eight gunners and 32 passengers were lost. On 31 October, a lifeboat with the bodies of two officers from the ship was found by a British warship in 56°08N/20°45W. | ||
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