Father & Son lost together on this day, 1941

On 1st March 1941, 84 years ago today, the Newcastle registered tanker CADILLAC (Yard #848) was torpedoed without warning and sunk about 150 miles north-northeast of Rockall by U-Boat U-552 on a voyage from Aruba to Avonmouth with a cargo of aviation spirit. She had been launched from Palmer’s Hebburn shipyard in September 1917 for the Anglo American Oil Co Ltd of Newcastle. Tonnage was 11106grt/6903nrt, with a Palmers built steam reciprocating engine driving a single screw shaft (Q4Cyl steam engine) 793nhp.

§ Completed in December 1917, her first encounter with a U-Boat was on 7 Apr 1918, when she was torpedoed and damaged by U-53 (Rose) about 100 miles west-southwest of Bishop Rock. She was the largest tanker damaged by U-Boat attack in World War 1 (per U-Boat net)

§ In 1930 her cargo tank section was renewed at Palmers Hebburn Dry Dock, a 350 ft cargo section was fabricated by Palmers, and the job took about 5 weeks (images from South Tyneside Council)

§ On 8 Sep 1939, a few days after war was declared, U-52 (Kptlt. Wolfgang Barten) attacked and fired one torpedo at her about 180 miles southwest of Cape Clear, heard a detonation after 2 minutes 57 seconds and claimed that the tanker began to sink after stopping. In fact the torpedo had detonated prematurely close to the ship without damaging her.

§ On 13 Feb 1941 she left Halifax in station #91 of convoy HX-109, but was separated from the other ships when convoy was scattered by a strong gale with heavy snow showers during the night of 26/27 February. The next day, she met another straggler and the two ships were sighted by U-552 at 10.23 hours on 1 March. However, the U-boat could not get into a favourable attack position because they were forced to dive twice during the day to evade a Sunderland aircraft patrolling the area.

§ Destroyer HMS Malcolm (D19) (Cdr C.D. Howard-Johnston, DSC, RN) was directed to the stragglers by the aircraft and led them to a group of three others ships from the scattered convoy. The five ships then continued in an ad hoc convoy proceeding in a line abreast formation with Cadillac as the outermost ship on the port side, escorted by the destroyer and corvette HMS Mallow (K81) (LtCdr W.B. Piggott, RNR).

§ At 23.56 hours on 1 March 1941 she was struck on the port side amidships and further aft in the cross bunker by torpedoes from U-552 while steaming at 9 knots in fine weather about 150 miles north-northeast of Rockall. She vibrated violently, took a list to starboard of 10-15° and the highly flammable cargo immediately caught fire, causing a massive explosion when the #8 tank blew up on the port side after about four minutes and illuminating all ships in the vicinity. With the ship settling by the bow and blazing furiously on the port side, the survivors tried to abandon ship on the starboard side. However, the small emergency lifeboat swamped during the launch as the forward fall was let go too quickly and its three occupants were thrown into the sea. The large rafts stored on the after deck proved to be far too cumbersome and heavy to launch them.

§ 26 survivors managed to abandon ship in the starboard aft lifeboat, but it was surrounded by burning fuel and most men panicked as they could hardly breathe and see nothing except a wall of flame all around them. Some began calling for help, others were praying and then most jumped over the side and perished. Only five men stayed and took cover in about one feet of water at the bottom of the boat, which slowly drifted clear of the flames in the slight swell and the men frantically began to row away for about a mile with the only four oars left until they were completely exhausted. They then fired a rocket and were picked up by HMS Malcolm at about 01.30 hours. HMS Malcolm had seen a number of men swimming close to the flames but were unable to help as they had lost their boats in the gale and stopping was too dangerous because she would have been an easy target, being illuminated by the burning tanker.

§ Unseen by the escorts, U-552 had remained on the surface nearby and Topp allowed his crew to come up to the bridge one at a time to have a look at the sea of flames before the U-boat subsequently left the area.

§ She was last seen still blazing with a list to starboard and down by the head in 60°20N/12°18W at 05.30 hours on 2 March and apparently foundered later that day. The master, 31 crew members, two gunners (the ship was armed with one 4.7in, one 3in and two machine guns) and three passengers were lost. Five crew members survived, but four of them were badly burned and were landed at Stornoway in the morning of 3 March to be taken to a hospital as quickly as possible. However, the condition of one man was worse as he had no clothes on that could protect his skin and he died of his wounds the following night. The boatswain was brought to Londonderry to make a report and was then also taken to a hospital for treatment of his burns.

§ Father and son Albert and James Innes of St. George, Bristol were lost together when she went down. RIP all.

CREW

Andrews, William 21 Sailor St. Ives Cornwall

Bane, Arthur Walter 31 A.B. Salisbury

Barker, Ernest RNVR 23 A.B. (DEMS) Kirkdale, Liverpool

Booth, Walter Speedy 53 Chief Engineer Letham Angus.

Buck, Edgar James 25 3rd Officer Gosport Hampshire

Carrick, William 23 Ass. Stwd Swarland Moor N’land

Coombes, Frank 44 Bosun South Shields - SURVIVED -

Davies, George B 25 Stwd Wallsend

Denson, Sidney 26 Fireman Newton Abbott

Duffin, David Henry 28 1st R/Officer Ballymena - SURVIVED -

Dwyer, Albert William 22 Sailor Southampton

Fairs, Albert Ernest 48 A.B. Pembroke

Green, William H 39 Greaser also served RN

Griffiths, Francis J 41 Fireman Falmouth

Hall, John Andrew 59 Cook Worthing, W Sussex

Hall, William D 17 2nd Cook Penzance

Haspell, James 56 A.B. Middlesbrough Yorks

Holcombe, Alfred W 17 Mess Rm Boy Shirehampton Bristol

Innes, Albert William 45 4th Engineer St. George Bristol

Innes, James Stanley 19 Fireman St. George Bristol

Jefferson, John Frazer 44 Master Holywood Co. Down

King, Charles Alfred 50 2nd Engineer Sheffield

Lukjanowski, Olgierd 21 O.S. Poland

MacLachlan, James 26 Fireman Parkstone Dorset

Mathieson, George 27 3rd Engineer Grave Grangemouth

McCallum, Edward 29 Carpenter Belfast - SURVIVED

McDonald, John 22 O.S. Belfast

Mercier, Clifford 29 A.B. Jersey, C I

Pike, Herbert RM 42 Marine (DEMS) Lower Upham, Hants

Reynolds, Edward 20 Junior Engineer Milford Haven

Shaw, Robert Joseph 18 O.S. Portaferry Co. Down

Smith, Reginald A 33 2nd Officer Cardiff- SURVIVED

Smyth, John 26 Fireman Belfast

Stephenson, James 37 Chief Stwd Ruislip Middlesex

Tunnah, William Hope 39 Chief Officer Mumbles Glamorgan

Wainwright, William 33 Jun. Engineer Eastham Cheshire

Wakeham, William 37 Jun. Engineer Whitehall Bristol

Weir, Henry Brennan 19 Cabin Boy Newtown-breda Co. Down

Witt, William Art RN 25 Pass. (L Stoker) Cardiff

Crew list compiled from a number of sources, incl U Boat net, Benjidog, CWGC, and lost/survivors by ref to Tower Hill image on Benjidog

Source – Tyne Built Ships, U Boat net, https://www.naval-history.net/https://www.wrecksite.e/Benjidog
Photo – South Tyneside Council, Frank & Sons