Matheran
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Matheran | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 7.653 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow | ||
| Owner | T. & J. Brocklebank Ltd, Liverpool | ||
| Homeport | Liverpool | ||
| Date of attack | 19 Oct, 1940 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-38 (Heinrich Liebe) | ||
| Position | 57N, 17W - Grid AL 0357 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 81 (9 dead and 72 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | HX-79 | ||
| Route | New York - Halifax (8 Oct) - Liverpool | ||
| Cargo | 3000 tons of iron, 1200 tons of zinc, grain, machinery and general cargo | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 22.13 hours on 19 Oct, 1940, U-38 fired a torpedo at the convoy HX-79 about 120 miles west-southwest of Rockall and missed the intended target but hit a vessel behind, the Matheran. At 22.19 hours, the U-boat fired another torpedo, which struck the Bilderdijk. Liebe then prepared to attack the next ship in the column but had to evade U-47 (Prien), which had set its sights on the same ship, the Uganda and sank her with one torpedo at 22.27 hours. The master and eight crew members from the Matheran (Master John Greenhall) were lost. 72 crew members were picked up by Loch Lomond from the same convoy, but the ship was sunk the next morning by U-100 (Schepke) as straggler. All men from Matheran survived the second sinking and were picked up by HMS Jason (J 99) (LtCdr R.E. Terry) and landed at Methil. | ||
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