Afoundria
American Steam merchant
Photo courtesy of the Mariners Museum, Newport News VA
| Name | Afoundria | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant (Hog Island) | ||
| Tonnage | 5,010 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - American International Shipbuilding Corp, Hog Island PA | ||
| Owner | Waterman Steamship Co, Mobile AL | ||
| Homeport | Mobile | ||
| Date of attack | 5 May 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-108 (Klaus Scholtz) | ||
| Position | 19° 59'N, 73° 26'W - Grid DN 8440 | ||
| Complement | 46 (0 dead and 46 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | New Orleans - San Juan, Puerto Rico | ||
| Cargo | 7700 tons of general cargo, including bombs, dynamite, food, lumber and road-building machinery | ||
| History | Laid down as Haddix, completed in November 1919 as Afoundria for US Shipping Board (USSB), Philadelphia. | ||
| Notes on event | At 22.40 hours on 5 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Afoundria (Master William Arthur Sillars) was hit by a torpedo from U-108, which was spotted by the Lookouts just before it struck between the #4 and #5 holds on the starboard side. The explosion ripped a large hole and immediately flooded the after holds. The ship began to settle, could not be maneuvered and sank after 50 minutes about eight miles north of Le Male Light, Haiti. The radio operator had sent distress signals and received a reply from Guantánamo. USS Mulberry (AN 27) was sent from there and picked up all 38 crew members and 8 passengers from three lifeboats 17 hours after the attack and took them to Guantánamo, where they arrived 9 hours after the were picked up. The master William Arthur Sillars died when his next ship, the La Salle, was sunk by U-159 (Witte) on 7 Nov 1942. | ||
| On board | We have details of 1 people who were on board. | ||
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