Capira

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Name	Capira
Type:	Steam merchant
Tonnage	5,625 tons
Completed	1920 - J.F. Duthie & Co, Seattle WA
Owner	US Lines Inc, New York
Homeport	Panama
Date of attack	31 Aug 1942	Nationality: Panaman

Fate	Sunk by U-609 (Klaus Rudloff)
Position	57.13N, 33.40W - Grid AK 2916 - See location on a map -
Complement	54 (5 dead and 49 survivors).
Convoy	SC-97
Route	New York - Glasgow
Cargo	General cargo, including trucks, tractors, steel mats, bulldozers and 250 bags of US mail
History	Built as American West Campgaw for United States Maritime Commission, Washington DC On 31 Dec, 1939, she was part of the Reserve fleet. 1941 renamed Capira for United States Lines under Panamanian flag.
Notes on loss	At 10.04 and 10.05 hours on 31 Aug, 1942, U-609 fired torpedoes at the convoy SC-97 and reported two ships sunk. The victims were the Capira and the Bronxville. The Capira (Master Ejnar Jensen) was struck on the starboard side at #4 hold near the after end of the engine room, which was immediately flooded. The ship began to settle by the stern and sank after 20 minutes. The most of the 41 crew members and 13 armed guards abandoned ship in three lifeboats and two rafts, but one boat capsized. At 10.15 hours, 33 survivors were picked up by the British rescue ship Perth. The remaining 16 survivors were picked up from wreckage and a raft by a corvette. All were landed at Gourock, Scotland on 6 September.

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