Western Prince
British Motor passenger ship
| Name | Western Prince | ||
| Type: | Motor passenger ship | ||
| Tonnage | 10,926 tons | ||
| Completed | 1929 - Napier & Miller Ltd, Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow | ||
| Owner | Furness, Withy & Co Ltd, Liverpool | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 14 Dec 1940 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) | ||
| Position | 59° 32'N, 17° 47'W - Grid AL 3337 | ||
| Complement | 169 (15 dead and 154 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | New York - Halifax (29 Nov) - Liverpool | ||
| Cargo | 3384 tons of base metal, 1864 tons of foodstuffs and 511 tons of general cargo | ||
| History | Completed in October 1929 for Prince Line Ltd. | ||
| Notes on event | At 08.55 hours on 14 Dec 1940 the unescorted Western Prince (Master John Reed) was hit in the forward part by one G7e torpedo from U-96 about 400 miles 280° from Cape Wrath. The U-boat had encountered a small freighter during the night and missed it twice with a G7e torpedo before the bigger ship was spotted and also missed with a first G7e torpedo at 07.20 hours. While the ship settled by the bow and stopped, the U-boat dived to reload the torpedo tubes and then waited until the crew abandoned ship in lifeboats. At 10.21 hours, a coup de grâce hit again the forward part of the vessel and caused her to sink within one minute. The master, eight crew members and six passengers were lost. 98 crew members and 55 passengers were picked up by the Baron Kinnaird and one crew member by HMS Active (H 14) (Cdr E.C.L. Turner, RN) and landed at Gourock. | ||
| On board | We have details of 30 people who were on board. | ||
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