River Afton
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| Name | River Afton | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,479 tons | ||
| Completed | 1935 - Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow | ||
| Owner | Campbell Brothers & Co, Newcastle-upon-Tyne | ||
| Homeport | Glasgow | ||
| Date of attack | 5 Jul 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-703 (Heinz Bielfeld) | ||
| Position | 75.57N, 43.00E - Grid AC 3568 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 64 (26 dead and 38 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | PQ-17 (dispersed) | ||
| Route | Middlesbrough - Reykjavik - Archangel | ||
| Cargo | 2314 tons of military stores, 36 tanks, 12 vehicles and 7 aircraft | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 21.02 hours on 5 Jul, 1942, the River Afton (Master Harold William Charlton), dispersed from the convoy PQ-17, was torpedoed by U-703 northeast of Kola. She was the ship of the convoy commodore John C.K. Dowding CBE DSO RNR RD. The vessel exploded, broke in two and sank after being hit by two coups de grāce at 21.05 and 21.22 hours. 15 crew members, eight gunners, one passenger and two naval staff members were lost. The master, the commodore, 31 crew members, one gunner, one passenger and three naval staff members were picked up by HMS Lotus (K 93) (Lt H.J. Hall) and landed at Matochkin, Novaya Zemlya. | ||
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