Wilja
| Name | Wilja | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 3.396 tons | ||
| Completed | 1914 - Robert Thompson & Sons Ltd, Bridge Dockyard, Sunderland | ||
| Owner | Antti Wihuri, Helsinki | ||
| Homeport | Helsinki | ||
| Date of attack | 17 Feb, 1940 | Nationality:  Finnish | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-48 (Herbert Schultze) | ||
| Position | 49.00N, 06.33W - Grid BF 1678 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 27 (0 dead and 27 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Savannah - Norfolk - Antwerp - Rotterdam | ||
| Cargo | General cargo, including tobacco, gum rosin, wheat and turpentine | ||
| History | Built as Kongsfos, 1921 renamed Randsfjord, 1934 sold to Finland and renamed Gertrud for A/B Kristian Hansen O/Y, Helsinki. 1939 sold to Antii Wihuri and renamed Wilja. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 20.36 hours on 17 Feb, 1940, the neutral Wilja (Master Martin Björkroth) was hit aft by a G7a torpedo from U-48, caught fire and sank after five minutes south of Bishop Rock. The U-boat had spotted an illuminated Dutch ship and a darkened vessel about 30 minutes earlier and attacked the latter. The other ship was Maasdam, which picked up the survivors and landed them in Havanna, Cuba. | ||
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