Ships hit by U-boats


Eros

British Steam merchant



Photo courtesy of the Allen Collection

NameEros
Type:Steam merchant
Tonnage5,888 tons
Completed1936 - Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast 
OwnerMorant SS Co Ltd (M.A. Kerwin), London 
HomeportBelfast 
Date of attack7 Jun 1940Nationality:      British
 
FateDamaged by U-48 (Hans Rudolf Rösing)
Position55° 33'N, 8° 26'W - Grid AM 5296
Complement62 (0 dead and 62 survivors).
Convoy
RouteMontreal - Liverpool 
Cargo301 tons of copper, 108 tons of ferro chrome and 200 tons of small arms 
History Completed in April 1936 for Erin SS Co Ltd (Standard Fruit & SS Co), Belfast. 1939 transferred to Morant SS Co Ltd (M.A. Kerwin), London.

On 3 Nov 1940, the Eros in convoy WN-29 from Pentland Firth to Methil was bombed and damaged by German aircraft in 57°48N/01°54W.

Post-war:
1947 registered in Canada for Eros Transport Co (Standard Fruit Co), Halifax. 1963 renamed Trangie for Rigryth Ltd, Sydney, NSW and 1964 registered in Panama. Broken up in March 1968 at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

 
Notes on event

At 03.22 hours on 7 June 1940, U-48 fired a torpedo at the unescorted Eros about 15 miles 52° of Tory Island and scored a hit after 4 minutes 34 seconds. The shot fell from a distance of about 3000 metres because the vessel was fast and the proximity of land prevented a chase on the surface. The U-boat left the area after the crew abandoned the burning ship.

The badly damaged Eros was taken in tow by HMS Berkeley (L 17) and was later assisted by HMS Bandit (W 69) and HMS Volunteer (D 71) (LtCdr N. Lanyon, RN), which had tried to salvage the torpedoed HMS Carinthia the day before. The survivors were picked up by HMS Paynter (FY 242). In the evening, the ship was beached on Tory Island and was later salvaged and repaired.

 


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