Everoja
British Steam merchant
Everoja under her former name Bright Wings. Photo courtesy of Rick Cox Collection
| Name | Everoja | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 4,830 tons | ||
| Completed | 1910 - William Hamilton & Co Ltd, Port Glasgow | ||
| Owner | Counties Ship Management Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 3 Nov 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-203 (Rolf Mützelburg) | ||
| Position | 52° 18'N, 53° 05'W - Grid AJ 7442 | ||
| Complement | 41 (0 dead and 41 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | SC-52 | ||
| Route | St. John, New Brunswick – Sydney, CB (29 Oct) - Dublin | ||
| Cargo | 6401 tons of wheat | ||
| History | Completed in June 1910 as British Middleham Castle for Lancashire Shipping Co Ltd (J. Chambers & Co), Liverpool. 1932 renamed Delia for NV Atlantische Vrachtvaart Mij (Vogemann), Panama. 1934 renamed Bright Wings for Wing Line Ltd, London. 1939 sold to Latvia and renamed Everoja for Fricis Grauds, Riga. After Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, the ship was interned in Dublin, Ireland. In July 1941, she was taken over by Britain and transferred to Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). On 24 Sep 1941, the Everoja collided due to fog with the British steam merchant South Wales, another ship in convoy SC-46 in the Belle Isle Strait. She returned to Sydney and returned to service on 29 October after being repaired in Louisburg. | ||
| Notes on event | At 18.28 hours on 3 Nov 1941, U-203 attacked convoy SC-52 80 miles east of Belle Island, Newfoundland, and sank the Everoja and Empire Gemsbuck. The Everoja (Master Alfred Kirschfeloths) in station #93 was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side in #2 hold, blowing off its hatches and beams and destroying the starboard side of the bridge and boat deck. No distress signals could be sent as the wireless set was disabled by the explosion. The master, 35 crew members and five gunners (the ship was armed with one 4in and six machine guns) abandoned ship in two lifeboats within five minutes when she developed a list of 15° to starboard. After about 20 minutes, HMS Nasturtium (K 107) (LtCdr R.C. Freaker, DSO, RNR) arrived and took the survivors aboard. At 20.00 hours, a boarding party led by the chief officer went back aboard, but found the vessel beyond salvage as the boiler and engine rooms were flooded. They recovered the confidential papers, all machine guns, the chronometer and the Aldis lamp and returned to the corvette, which stood by the ship waiting for a salvage tug until the Everoja foundered at 15.30 hours on 4 November. The survivors were landed the next day at St. John’s, Newfoundland. | ||
| On board | We have details of 2 people who were on board. | ||
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