Date of attack

13 Mar 1943  

Fate

Sunk by U-107 (Harald Gelhaus)

Position 42.45N, 13.31W - Grid CG 1218

Complement

94 (28 dead and 66 survivors).

Convoy

OS-44

Route

Liverpool (6 Mar) - Walvis Bay, South West Africa - Port Sudan

Sailing Notice from February 1921

Cargo

11,317 tons of general cargo, including army and naval stores

Notes on loss  

At 05.30 hours on 13 Mar, 1943, U-107 attacked the convoy OS-44 190 miles west of Cape Finisterre and reported hits on three ships. In fact, four ships were hit, the Clan Alpine, Marcella, Oporto and Sembilangan.

The Clan Alpine (Master Joseph Henry Crellin) was later scuttled by HMS Scarborough (L 25) (LtCdr E.B. Carnduff, RN) with depth charges. 28 crew members were lost.

The master, 56 crew members and nine gunners were picked up by the sloop, transferred to the British steam merchant Pendeen and landed at Gibraltar.

The Greenock and Grangemouth Dockyard Co Ltd of Greenock built Clan Alpine, launching her on 28 January 1918 and completing her that April.

Clan Alpine was 410.2 ft (125.03 m) long, had a beam of 53.5 ft (16.31 m) and draught of 26 ft 0 in (7.92 m). Until 1930 her tonnages were 5,485 GRT and 3,425 NRT.

Clan Alpine was built with a triple-expansion engine that developed 538 NHP.

In 1930 a Bauer-Wach exhaust steam turbine was added, which increased her fuel efficiency. It also increased her total power to 627 NHP and gave her a service speed of 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h).

Also in 1930 her tonnages were revised to 5,442 GRT and 3,390 NRT.

In the Second World War Clan Alpine was defensively armed with a 4-inch or 4.7-inch gun on her stern, plus two Bofors 40 mm guns and four machine guns for anti-aircraft cover.

On 19 November 1942, while sailing to Saint Helena, Clan Alpine rescued 154 survivors from two lifeboats from the torpedoed Ellerman Lines troop ship City of Cairo and took them to Saint Helena.