Clan Mactavish
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Clan Mactavish | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 7.631 tons | ||
| Completed | 1921 - Ayrshire Dockyard Co Ltd, Irvine | ||
| Owner | The Clan Line Steamers Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | Glasgow | ||
| Date of attack | 8 Oct, 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-159 (Helmut Witte) | ||
| Position | 34.53S, 16.45E - Grid GR 5856 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 128 (61 dead and 67 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Beira - Durban (4 Oct) - Trinidad - New York | ||
| Cargo | 4597 tons of copper, 1180 tons of extract and 280 tons of general cargo | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 09.07 hours on 8 Oct, 1942, the unescorted Clan Mactavish (Master Ernest Edwin Arthur) was hit in the foreship by one of two torpedoes from U-159 and sank by the bow about 250 miles east of Cape of Good Hope. The vessel was carrying 35 survivors from the Boringia, which had been sunk by the same U-boat a few hours earlier. The master, 51 crew members, two gunners and seven survivors were lost. 36 crew members, three gunners and 28 survivors were picked up by the British merchant Matheran and landed at Capetown. | ||
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