British Vigilance
British Motor tanker
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| Name | British Vigilance | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 8,093 tons | ||
| Completed | 1942 - Harland & Wolff Ltd, Govan, Glasgow | ||
| Owner | British Tanker Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 24 Jan 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-105 (Jürgen Nissen) | ||
| Position | 21° 00'N, 45° 00'W - Grid DQ 7345 | ||
| Complement | 54 (27 dead and 27 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | TM-1 (straggler) | ||
| Route | Curaçao - Trinidad - Gibraltar | ||
| Cargo | 11.000 tons of clean petroleum products | ||
| History | Launched as Empire Vigilance for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), completed in May 1942 as British Vigilance for British Tanker Co Ltd, London. | ||
| Notes on event | At 22.52 hours on 3 Jan 1943 the British Vigilance (Master Evan Owen Evans) in convoy TM-1 was torpedoed by U-514 (Auffermann) about 900 miles northeast of Barbados in 20°58N/44°40W and abandoned. 25 crew members and two gunners were lost. The master, 21 crew members and five gunners were picked up by HMS Saxifrage (K 04) (Lt N.L. Knight, RNR) and landed at Gibraltar. The burning tanker was abandoned and drifted for three weeks, before the wreck was sunk by U-105 with two torpedoes at 10.05 hours on 24 January. | ||
| On board | We have details of 29 people who were on board. | ||
Attack entries for British Vigilance
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Loss type | Tons | Nat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Jan 1943 | U-514 | Kptlt. Hans-Jürgen Auffermann | Damaged | 8,093 | |
| 24 Jan 1943 | U-105 | Oblt. Jürgen Nissen | Sunk | 8,093 | |
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