Date of attack

1 Aug 1942  

Fate

Sunk by U-155 (Adolf Cornelius Piening)

Position 11.54N, 54.25W - Grid EE 9456

Complement

82 (5 dead and 77 survivors).

Route

Alexandria - Freetown (22 Jul) - Trinidad - New York

Cargo

10,670 bales of cotton

Notes on loss  

At 17.58 hours on 1 Aug, 1942, the unescorted Clan Macnaughton (Master Robert John Wylie Bennet) was hit by two stern torpedoes from U-155 and sank after 15 minutes about 180 miles east of Tobago.

She was loaded with over ten thousand bales of cotton had been sailing independently from Alexandria to New York via Freetown and Trinidad.

On the 1st August 1942 about 180 nautical miles East of Tobago the ship was intercepted by U-155 and hit by two torpedoes fired from her stern tube. The first torpedo detonated in number four hold followed a few seconds later by torpedo detonating under the bridge killing four Lascar crew members and one DEMS gunner, Lance Bombardier George Herbert Mate, of Linthwaite, Huddersfield and the ship was immediately ordered abandoned.

Three boats were successfully launched, but a fourth was damaged throwing the occupants into the sea as the forward fall was let go. Five minutes after leaving the ship she broke in two and sank in position 11' 54N, 54' 25W. The three boats then set sail for Trinidad.

The Chief Officer's boat with twenty-eight survivors were found by British Merchant ship Empire Bede on the 3rd August and landed at Port of Spain and Third Officers boat with twenty-two survivors were picked up around the same time by an unknown American vessel and also landed at Port of Spain.

The Masters boat, with twenty-eight survivors was blown off course and landed at Tobago on the 7th August. Here they were met by local natives who gave them fresh coconut milk to drink. After drinking half of it, it was mixed with the local rum, which resulted in all those who drank it passing out. A few hours later they were picked up by two buses and taken to Tobago's capital Scarborough where they were sheltered in a small German managed hotel and were well cared for before being reunited with the rest of the survivors at Port of Spain