St. Essylt
| Name | St. Essylt | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5.634 tons | ||
| Completed | 1941 - J.L. Thompson & Sons Ltd, North Sands, Sunderland | ||
| Owner | South American Saint Line, Cardiff | ||
| Homeport | Cardiff | ||
| Date of attack | 4 Jul, 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-375 (Jürgen Könenkamp) | ||
| Position | 36.44N, 01.31E - Grid CH 8295 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 399 (2 dead and 397 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | KMS-18B | ||
| Route | Clyde (24 Jun) - Sicily | ||
| Cargo | 320 troops and 900 tons of military stores | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 21.40 hours on 4 Jul, 1943, U-375 fired a spread of four torpedoes at the convoy KMS-18B 10 miles north of Cape Tenez, Algeria and reported the sinking of a freighter with 8000 grt. In fact, the St. Essylt and City of Venice were hit and sunk. The St. Essylt (Master Stephen Diggins) caught fire and blew up the next morning. One crew member and one military personnel were lost. The master, 53 crew members, 24 gunners and 319 troops were picked up by HMS Honeysuckle (K 27) (Lt H.M.D. MacKillican DSC) and HMS Rhododendron (K 78) (Lt O.B. Medley) and the HMS Restive (W 39) (Lt D.M. Richards) and landed at Algiers. The master Stephen Diggins was awarded the Lloyds War Medal for bravery at sea. | ||
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