Siremalm
Norwegian Steam merchant
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| Name | Siremalm | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 2,468 tons | ||
| Completed | 1906 - A. Rodger & Co, Port Glasgow | ||
| Owner | A.I. Langfeldt & Co, Kristiansand | ||
| Homeport | Kristiansand | ||
| Date of attack | 26 Sep 1941 | Nationality:  Norwegian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-124 (Johann Mohr) | ||
| Position | 49° 05'N, 20° 10'W - Grid BE 2714 | ||
| Complement | 28 (28 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | HG-73 | ||
| Route | Almeira - Gibraltar (17 Sep) - Barrow | ||
| Cargo | 4000 tons of iron ore | ||
| History | Completed in March 1906 as Craigisla for D. Russell & Co, Leith. 1910 sold to Norway and renamed Ottawa for W. Gorrissen, Christania. 1935 renamed Senta for Ole L. Løkke, Oslo. 1939 renamed Siremalm for A.I. Langfeldt & Co, Kristiansand. At 04.27 hours on 23 Mar 1941, the unescorted Siremalm (Master Haakon Svendsen) was hit on the port side amidships by a dud torpedo from U-110 (Lemp) en route from Reykjavik (left on 21 March) to Halifax with general cargo and mail in 60°35N/28°25W. The torpedo left a big indent in the vicinity of the boiler room. The ship had been spotted at 12.00 hours the day before and the U-boat had lost contact temporarily due to aircraft that forced her to submerge. After spotting the ship again, a stern torpedo missed at 03.14 hours and three minutes later a bow torpedo. 15 minutes after hitting the ship with the dud torpedo, Lemp attacked with all guns, but the barrel of the deck gun exploded on the first shot because the gun crew forgot to remove the water plug. The U-boat opened fire only with the 37mm and 20mm AA guns, scoring two hits in the hull on the port side of the ship, which was armed with one 4in gun and three machine guns. The Siremalm escaped zigzagging at full speed while the radio operator sent distress signals that were not answered and the crew manned the gun, but did not fire because they feared that this would give away their position and making the ship a target. No casualties among the crew of 25 Norwegians. When U-110 tried to chase the ship, they suddenly begun to dive and had to stop. An examination of the deck showed that splinters of the exploded barrel had damaged some pipelines, which led to the unintentional diving and the damage forced the U-boat to abort the patrol. | ||
| Notes on event | At 23.35 hours on 26 September 1941 the Siremalm (Master Haakon Svendsen) in station #23 of convoy HG-73 was hit aft by one torpedo from U-124 and sank immediately north-northeast of the Azores. HMS Hibiscus (K 24) (LtCdr C.G. Cuthbertson, RNR) was ordered to pick up survivors, but the master, 25 crew members and two British gunners were lost. | ||
| More info | |||
| On board | We have details of 29 people who were on board. | ||
Attack entries for Siremalm
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Loss type | Tons | Nat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Mar 1941 | U-110 | Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp | Damaged | 2,468 | |
| 26 Sep 1941 | U-124 | Kptlt. Johann Mohr | Sunk | 2,468 | |
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