Berenice
Photo Courtesy of kroonvaarders.com
| Name | Berenice | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 1.177 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - Lobithsche Scheepsbouw Mij v. Gebroeders Bodewes, Lobith | ||
| Owner | Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mij NV, Amsterdam | ||
| Homeport | Amsterdam | ||
| Date of attack | 21 Jun, 1940 | Nationality:  Dutch | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-65 (Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) | ||
| Position | 47.10N, 03.35W - Grid BF 5559 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 47 (39 dead and 8 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Istanbul (10 Apr) - Bordeaux (20 Jun) - UK | ||
| Cargo | 1000 tons of manganese ore and passengers | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 08.17 hours on 21 Jun, 1940, the unescorted Berenice (Master A. Huygens) was torpedoed and sunk by U-65. The Berenice had left Bordeaux at 13.30 hours on 20 June with 22 passengers on board (mostly Dutch and Belgians refugees), among them the poet H. Marsman and his wife and the Dutch painter T. Bottema. The ship sailed together with the Dutch steamer Orpheus, the coastal vessels Nettie and Ary Scheffer and the tug Seine, but they got dispersed in the following night and only the Nettie was in visual range. The Berenice was hit by one torpedo amidships, causing her to sink within three minutes. The coastal vessel picked up eight survivors, including the master and Marsmanīs wife, the only surviving passenger. According to the KTB of U-65, they sighted a big steamer, identified as Champlain (28124 tons), at 5.45 hours, which was shadowed until 7.35 hours, when the U-boat lost contact in fog. A short time later the ship was sighted again and attacked with a spread of three torpedoes at 8.17 hours. | ||
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