Ships hit by U-boats


Holmelea

British Steam merchant



NameHolmelea
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage4,223 tons
Completed1928 - Sir John Priestman & Co Ltd, Southwick, Sunderland 
OwnerJohn Morrison & Son, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
HomeportNewcastle 
Date of attack28 Feb 1941Nationality:      British
 
FateSunk by U-47 (Günther Prien)
Position54° 24'N, 17° 25'W - Grid AL 6910
Complement38 (28 dead and 10 survivors).
ConvoyHX-109 (straggler)
RouteRosario - Halifax (13 Feb) - Hull 
Cargo7000 tons of grain, linseed and maize 
History Completed in August 1928 
Notes on event

In the early morning on 28 February 1941 the Holmelea (Master John Robert Potts), a straggler from convoy HX-109, was damaged by gunfire by U-47 and sunk by a coup de grâce southwest of Rockall. The ship had been missed by a torpedo from U-99 (Kretschmer) earlier that night. The master, 26 crew members and one gunner were lost. On 5 March, ten crew members in one lifeboat were picked up by the Icelandic trawler Baldur and landed at Fleetwood.

On the same day, the trawler had picked up 39 survivors from the Dutch merchant Simaloer, which had been bombed and sunk by a German aircraft 60 hours before.

 
On boardWe have details of 29 people who were on board


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