Canadian Star
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Canadian Star | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 8.293 tons | ||
| Completed | 1939 - Burmeister & Wain´s Maskin & Skibsbyggeri A/S, Copenhagen | ||
| Owner | Blue Star Line Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 18 Mar, 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-221 (Hans-Hartwig Trojer) | ||
| Position | 53.24N, 28.34W - Grid AK 6897 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 88 (34 dead and 54 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | HX-229 | ||
| Route | Sydney, Australia - New York (8 Mar) - Liverpool | ||
| Cargo | 7806 tons of refrigerated cargo, including meat, cheese and butter | ||
| History | At 01.00 hours on 20 Jul, 1941, U-126 (Bauer) sighted the unescorted Canadian Star and followed her until 02.42 hours, when two torpedoes were fired at the ship in 49°15N/21°W (grid BE 1932). Both missed and Bauer decided to attack with the gun. The U-boat shelled her victim for about 10 minutes but hit only a few times. Then the gunners on the ship fought back with a great accuracy and forced Bauer to cease the attack. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 16.43 hours on 18 Mar, 1943, U-221 hit the Walter Q. Gresham in station #21 of the convoy HX-229 with a stern shot and sank her southeast of Cape Farewell. At 16.49 hours, one FAT and two standard torpedoes were fired. The FAT missed and detonated at the end of its run, while the other two struck the Canadian Star in station #23, which sank in 15 minutes. The master, 22 crew members, 2 gunners and nine passengers from the Canadian Star (Master Robert David Miller) were lost. 33 crew members, 6 gunners and 15 passengers were picked up by the HMS Anemone (K 48) (LtCdr P.G.A. King) and HMS Pennywort (K 111) (Lt O.G. Stuart) and landed at Gourock. Master Robert David Miller was posthumously awarded the Lloyd´s War Medal for bravery at sea. | ||
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