Tela
Honduras Steam merchant
Photo published by permission of source Karen Ritter Burlet, New Orleans, LA
| Name | Tela | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 3,901 tons | ||
| Completed | 1927 - Workman, Clark & Co Ltd, Belfast | ||
| Owner | Mayan SS Co (United Fruit Co), Tela | ||
| Homeport | Puerto Cortes | ||
| Date of attack | 8 Jun 1942 | Nationality:  Honduras | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-504 (Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske) | ||
| Position | 18.15N, 85.20W - Grid EA 3320 | ||
| Complement | 54 (11 dead and 43 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | New Orleans - Panama City (4 Jun) - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica | ||
| Cargo | General cargo | ||
| History | Completed in May 1927 | ||
| Notes on loss | At 06.59 hours on 8 Jun, 1942, the unescorted Tela (Master John Shiell) was hit on the port side in the engine room and at #3 hold by two torpedoes from U-504, caught fire and sank by the stern within five minutes. Eleven crew members were lost. The master, 38 crew members, three armed guards and one Costa Rican passenger abandoned ship in two lifeboats and two rafts and were picked up at 19.30 hours by the Port Montreal, which was herself sunk by U-68 (Merten) two days later. Two crew members from Tela died in the lifeboats and were buried at sea. On 16 June, the remaining survivors were picked up by the Colombian schooner Hiloa and landed at Cristobal the next day. | ||
| Crewlists | We have listing of 15 people who were on this vessel | ||
Location of attack on Tela.
ship sunk.
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