Ships hit by U-boats


Andrea Brøvig

Norwegian Motor tanker



Photo courtesy of H. Larsson-Feddes collection

NameAndrea Brøvig
Type:Motor tanker
Tonnage10,173 tons
Completed1939 - A/B Götaverken, Gothenburg 
OwnerTh. Brøvig, Farsund 
HomeportFarsund 
Date of attack23 Jun 1942Nationality:      Norwegian
 
FateSunk by U-128 (Ulrich Heyse)
Position12° 10'N, 59° 10'W - Grid EE 7432
Complement40 (0 dead and 40 survivors).
Convoy
RoutePort of Spain, Trinidad (22 Jun) - Freetown 
Cargo14,000 tons of oil 
History Completed in February 1940. Since 1941 in Admiralty service as Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). 
Notes on event

At 07.20 hours on 23 June 1942 the Andrea Brøvig (Master Selmer L. Pedersen) was hit by two torpedoes from U-128 off Trinidad. The tanker stopped and was hit amidships by a coup de grâce at 07.40 hours. To set the tanker on fire the U-boat opened fire with the 37mm AA gun but then had to fire a second coup de grâce that hit aft and caused the ship to sink by the stern within 3 minutes.

The survivors later reported that the U-boat fired on the lifeboats with machine guns, but missed - it is more likely that some shots fired at the tanker hit the water near the boats and the men thought they were the target. On 25 June, they reached Tobago and Trinidad and later boarded Robert E. Lee, which was sunk by U-166 (Kuhlmann) en route to New Orleans with 268 passengers (mostly survivors of other sinkings) on 30 July. All Norwegian passengers were saved.

The engineers from Andrea Brøvig worked later on the Norwegian motor merchant Balla (2565 grt), which was equipped with two German diesel engines from 1930, a type meant for U-boats. This vessel had to be laid up in the USA during 1942 due the continued problems with her engines, but the engineers from the tanker kept them running.

 
More infoMore on this vessel 
On boardWe have details of 40 people who were on board


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