British Mariner
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | British Mariner | ||
| Type: | Steam tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 6.996 tons | ||
| Completed | 1922 - Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Co Ltd, Jarrow and Hebburn-on-Tyne | ||
| Owner | British Tanker Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 20 Oct, 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | A total loss by U-126 (Ernst Bauer) | ||
| Position | 07.43N, 14.20W - Grid ET 6111 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 51 (3 dead and 48 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Freetown - Curaçao | ||
| Cargo | Ballast | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 05.54 hours on 20 Oct, 1941, U-126 attacked a small convoy of two tankers and one escort west of Freetown and fired one torpedo at each tanker from a distance of 400 meters. The first torpedo struck the British Mariner aft of the mast in the engine room. The propulsion of the second torpedo failed and it sank to the bottom. Bauer immediately fired a third torpedo, which was a surface runner and missed. U-126 tried to follow the second tanker, but was chased away by the escort and later by an aircraft. The British Mariner (Master Henry Beattie) was abandoned by her crew, but was later reboarded and towed to Freetown by the Dutch tug Donau and the British harbour tug HMS Hudson (W 02). Three crew members were lost. The master, 44 crew members and three gunners were picked up by the British tug and landed at Freetown. | ||
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