Ships hit by U-boats


Fort Bellingham

British Steam merchant



NameFort Bellingham
Type:Steam merchant (Victory)
Tonnage7,153 tons
Completed1943 - Burrard Dry Dock Co, North Vancouver BC 
OwnerHain SS Co, London 
HomeportLondon 
Date of attack26 Jan 1944Nationality:      British
 
FateSunk by U-957 (Gerd Schaar)
Position73° 25'N, 25° 10'E - Grid AC 4562
Complement75 (37 dead and 38 survivors).
ConvoyJW-56A (straggler)
RouteLondon - Loch Ewe (12 Jan) - Akureyri, Iceland (21 Jan) - Murmansk 
Cargo4900 tons of military and general stores, including 5 tons of cordite 
History Completed in August 1943 for the Canadian Government, lend-leased on bareboat charter to British Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). 
Notes on event

At 00.16 hours on 26 January 1944 U-360 (Becker) fired a spread of three FAT torpedoes at convoy JW-56A in the Barents Sea north of North Cape in 73°45N/24°48E and heard three hits. In fact, only the Fort Bellingham (Master James Ninian Maley), the ship of convoy commodore, was hit and fell behind convoy where she was sunk by U-957 with a T-3 torpedo at 06.53 hours the same day.

The master, the commodore, four naval staff members, 23 crew members and seven gunners were picked up by HMS Offa (G 29) (LtCdr R.F. Leonard, RN) and landed at Murmansk. Two gunners were taken prisoner by U-957. 21 crew members, 14 gunners and two naval staff members were lost.

 
On boardWe have details of 75 people who were on board

Attack entries for Fort Bellingham

DateU-boatCommanderLoss typeTonsNat.
26 Jan 1944U-360Kptlt. Klaus-Helmuth BeckerDamaged7,153  
26 Jan 1944U-957Oblt. Gerd SchaarSunk7,153  


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