British Loyalty
British Motor tanker
Photo courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | British Loyalty | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 6,993 tons | ||
| Completed | 1928 - Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Co Ltd, Jarrow | ||
| Owner | British Tanker Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 9 Mar 1944 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | A total loss by U-183 (Fritz Schneewind) | ||
| Position | 0° 41'S, 73° 11'E - Grid LN 2726 | ||
| Complement | ? men (0 dead and ? survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Addu Atoll (stationary) | ||
| Cargo | 6417 tons of fuel oil, motor spirit and some coal | ||
| History | Completed in January 1928 In the evening of 30 May 1942 the Japanese midget submarine M-20b (Lt Saburo Akieda) launched by the Japanese submarine I-20 (T. Yamada) penetrated the roads of Diego Suarez, Madagascar and hit HMS Ramillies (07) (Capt D.N.C. Tufnell, DSC, RN) and the British Loyalty (Master R. Wastell) with one torpedo each. The tanker was hit aft in the engine room and sank to the bottom 37° 5 cables from Antsirana Lighthouse. Five crew members and one gunner were lost. In December 1942 she was refloated, repaired and towed to the Addu Atoll in October 1943, where she was used as a oil storage hulk. | ||
| Notes on event | Around 09.00 hours on 9 March 1944 U-183 fired a torpedo at the oil storage hulk British Loyalty (Master R.M. Anderson) through a gap in the torpedo net across the Gan Channel in the Addu Atoll, Maledives. The torpedo hit the vessel lying at anchor off the island of Vilingili on the starboard side aft, completely wrecked the engine room and flooded the #7, #8 and #9 tanks, causing a heavy list to starboard. Counter-flooding saved the ship from sinking to the bottom. She was later repaired and again used as hulk until she was scuttled in position 00°38´12S/73°07´24E on 15 January 1946. | ||
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