Ships hit by U-boats


Richard Henderson

American Steam merchant


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NameRichard Henderson
Type:Steam merchant (Liberty)
Tonnage7,194 tons
Completed1943 - Permanente Metals Corp, Richmond CA 
OwnerUS Lines Inc, New York 
HomeportSan Francisco 
Date of attack26 Aug 1943Nationality:      American
 
FateSunk by U-410 (Horst-Arno Fenski)
Position37° 15'N, 8° 24'E - Grid CJ 7826
Complement70 (0 dead and 70 survivors).
ConvoyUGS-14
RoutePhiladelphia - Hampton Roads, Virginia (6 Aug) - Persian Gulf - Bandar Shahpur, Iran 
Cargo5000 tons of general war cargo and high explosives 
History Completed in February 1943 
Notes on event

At 22.16 hours on 26 Aug 1943, U-410 fired a spread of three torpedoes at convoy UGS-14 about 35 miles northeast of Bone, Algeria, heard three hits and reported two ships sunk and another damaged. In fact, the John Bell and Richard Henderson were sunk.

The Richard Henderson (Master Lawrence Joseph Silk) had been in station #43, but changed to station #22 in the afternoon as convoy was reformed into four columns to pass through minefields. The ship was struck by one torpedo on the starboard side, aft of the #5 hatch. The explosion destroyed the quarters of the gun crew, blew away the rudder and screw and flooded the engine room. As the vessel began to settle slowly by the stern, the engines were secured and the eight officers, 34 crewmen and 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with two 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in six lifeboats. The ship sank by the stern after five hours.
The next morning, three lifeboats made landfall at La Calle, Algeria. The remaining survivors in the other three boats were rescued by escort ships, among them the South African armed trawler HMSAS Southern Maid (T 27) and landed on 27 August at Bizerte, Tunisia.

 
On boardWe have details of 2 people who were on board


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