Alphacca
Dutch Steam merchant
| Name | Alphacca | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,759 tons | ||
| Completed | 1928 - W. Gray & Co Ltd, Sunderland | ||
| Owner | NV Van Nievelt, Goudriaan & Co´s Stoomvaart Mij, Rotterdam | ||
| Homeport | Rotterdam | ||
| Date of attack | 4 Apr 1942 | Nationality:  Dutch | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-505 (Axel-Olaf Loewe) | ||
| Position | 01.50N, 07.40W - Grid FF 2242 | ||
| Complement | 72 (15 dead and 57 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Beira - Capetown - Freetown - UK | ||
| Cargo | 6590 tons of general cargo, including 2003 tons of copper, 25 tons of vanadium and 400 tons of zinc | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 21.29 hours on 4 Apr, 1942, the unescorted Alphacca (R.J. van der Laan) was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-505 and sank. 14 crew members were lost and a stoker died of wounds the next day. Loewe questioned the survivors and gave them the course to land. All four lifeboats landed east of Las Palmas, Ivory Coast. One week later, two Free French corvettes took the survivors on board and brought them to Freetown. | ||
Location of attack on Alphacca.
ship sunk.
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