Allied Ships hit by U-boats


Silvercedar


Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart

NameSilvercedar
Type:Motor merchant
Tonnage4,354 tons
Completed1924 - William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland 
OwnerSilver Line Ltd (Stanley & John Thompson Ltd), London 
HomeportLondon 
Date of attack15 Oct 1941Nationality:      British
 
FateSunk by U-553 (Karl Thurmann)
Position53.36N, 29.57W - Grid AK 9222
- See location on a map -
Complement48 (22 dead and 26 survivors).
ConvoySC-48
RouteNew York - Sydney - Liverpool 
Cargo7300 tons of general cargo, including steel 
History  
Notes on loss At 08.15 hours on 15 Oct, 1941, U-553 torpedoed and sank the Silvercedar in convoy SC-48 southeast of Cape Farewell and missed at 08.17 hours another ship and thought that she had hit a ship beyond, but this was not the case. At 08.23 hours, the U-boat fired two torpedoes and sank the Ila.

The Silvercedar (Master Thomas Keane) sank in seven minutes on an even keel. The master, 18 crew members, two gunners and one passenger (DBS) were lost. 19 crew members and seven gunners were picked up by FFL Mimosa (J 6254) and landed at Reykjavik. 


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