Estrellano
Photo courtesy of the Allen Collection
| Name | Estrellano | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 1,983 tons | ||
| Completed | 1920 - Hall, Russell & Co Ltd, Aberdeen | ||
| Owner | Ellerman & Papayanni Lines Ltd, Liverpool | ||
| Homeport | Liverpool | ||
| Date of attack | 9 Feb 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-37 ( Asmus Nicolai Clausen) | ||
| Position | 35.53N, 13.13W - Grid CG 7555 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 27 (6 dead and 21 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | HG-53 | ||
| Route | Leixoes - Liverpool | ||
| Cargo | 900 tons of general cargo and 1100 tons of canned fish | ||
| History | Completed in November 1920 | ||
| Notes on loss | At 04.30 hours on 9 Feb, 1941, U-37 fired two G7a torpedoes at two ships in convoy HG-53 about 160 miles southwest of Cape St. Vincent and sank both ships, Courland and Estrellano. At 05.00 hours, one G7e torpedo was fired, but it missed the ships in station #61 and #31 and did not hit a ship beyond them, as Clausen thought. Five crew members from Estrellano (Master Fred Bird) were lost. The master, 20 crew members and one gunner were picked up by HMS Deptford (L 53) (LtCdr G.A. Thring, DSO, RN) and landed at Liverpool. One crew member died of wounds aboard the sloop and was buried at sea on 10 February. | ||
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