Tilia Gorthon
Swedish Steam merchant
Photo courtesy of Sjöhistoriska Museet, Stockholm
| Name | Tilia Gorthon | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 1,776 tons | ||
| Completed | 1930 - Fredriksstad Mekaniske Verksted A/S, Fredrikstad | ||
| Owner | Joh. Gorthon, Helsingborg | ||
| Homeport | Helsingborg | ||
| Date of attack | 20 Jun 1940 | Nationality:  Swedish | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-38 (Heinrich Liebe) | ||
| Position | 48.32N, 06.20W - Grid BF 1991 | ||
| Complement | 21 (10 dead and 11 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Bahia - Liverpool - Nantes | ||
| Cargo | Coal | ||
| History | Completed in June 1930 for Rederi A/B Activ (Joh. Gorthon), Helsingborg. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 03.36 hours on 20 Jun, 1940, U-38 missed the unescorted and neutral Tilia Gorthon (Master J.F. Günther) with a G7a torpedo and then stopped the vessel by gunfire about 45 miles west of the Scilly Islands. At 04.12 hours, she was hit in the engine room by a G7e torpedo after the crew had abandoned ship in two lifeboats and sank. The survivors were picked up by HMS Leith (U 36) (Cdr G.R. Waymouth, RN). The Tilia Gorthon had been on voyage from Bahia to Gothenburg, but was stopped by a British warship and sent to Liverpool and then to Nantes, but near Loires a new order sent her to Quiberon Bay and finally ordered the ship back to Liverpool. A man from this ship was repatriated on the Atos which was sunk by U-57 (Topp) on 3 August. | ||
Location of attack on Tilia Gorthon.
ship sunk.
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