Empire Blanda
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| Name | Empire Blanda | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5.693 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow | ||
| Owner | Larrinaga & Co Ltd, Liverpool | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 19 Feb, 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-69 (Jost Metzler) | ||
| Position | Grid AL 3124 - See estimated map location (60.33N18.50W) * | ||
| Complement | 40 (40 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | HX-107 (straggler) | ||
| Route | Baltimore - Halifax - Grangemouth | ||
| Cargo | Scrap iron, steel and explosives | ||
| History | Built as British Nile for Nile SS Co, Glasgow; 1933 renamed Yugoslavian Sokol for Jugoslavenska Plovidba DD, Susak; 1939 renamed Panamanian Rio Grande for Compañía Panamena de Vapores Ltda, Panama. 1940 taken over by Britain and renamed Empire Blanda by Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). | ||
| Notes on loss | On 18 Feb, 1941, the Empire Blanda (Master George Allan Duncan) was reported missing south of Iceland after straggling from convoy HX-107. The master, 36 crew members and three gunners were lost. At 08.18 hours on 19 February, a lone freighter was hit by one torpedo from U-69 south of Iceland and sank in a few seconds after four heavy detonations, this must have been the Empire Blanda. The ship had been missed by a two torpedo spread at 07.44 hours and a single torpedo at 08.01 hours. The U-boat was almost hit by falling debris. | ||
* Estimated position shown here is based on positions of losses in a roughly the same German grid code. It may be a bit off but should give a good idea as to where the attack took place.
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