Monte Gorbea
Spanish Motor merchant
| Name | Monte Gorbea | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 3,720 tons | ||
| Completed | 1923 - Compañia Euskalduna, Bilbao | ||
| Owner | Naviera Aznar SA, Bilbao | ||
| Homeport | Bilbao | ||
| Date of attack | 19 Sep 1942 | Nationality:  Spanish | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-512 (Wolfgang Schultze) | ||
| Position | 14° 55'N, 60° 00'W - Grid EE 4423 | ||
| Complement | 79 (52 dead and 27 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Buenos Aires - Curaçao - Bilbao | ||
| Cargo | 5850 tons of wheat and beans | ||
| History | Completed in April 1923 as Arantza-Mendi for Cia Naviera Sota y Aznar, Bilbao. 1936 transferred to Italy during the Spanish Civil War by the Spanish Nationalists and renamed Lecce for SA Co-operativa di Navigazione Garibaldi, Genoa. 1938 returned to the Spanish owner and renamed Arantza-Mendi. 1939 renamed Monte Gorbea for Naviera Aznar SA, Bilbao. | ||
| Notes on event | About 19.37 hours on 19 Sep 1942 the unescorted and neutral Monte Gorbea was hit by one torpedo from U-512 and sank within one minute about 60 miles east of Martinique. The ship had been first sighted at 16.41 hours and Schultze decided to sink the vessel despite of seeing the neutral flag, assuming it to be a ruse of war. 23 of 46 crew members and 29 of the 33 passengers aboard were lost. The master, 22 crew members and four passengers managed to reach Martinique in a lifeboat. The BdU informed the commander by radio message that he had to expect a war tribunal on his return, but the U-boat was lost during the patrol. | ||
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