Rose Castle
Canadian Steam merchant
| Name | Rose Castle | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 7,803 tons | ||
| Completed | 1915 - Short Bros Ltd, Pallion, Sunderland | ||
| Owner | Rose Castle SS Co Ltd (Mng Donaldson Brothers Ltd), Sydney | ||
| Homeport | Halifax | ||
| Date of attack | 2 Nov 1942 | Nationality:  Canadian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-518 (Friedrich-Wilhelm Wissmann) | ||
| Position | 47° 36'N, 52° 58'W - Grid BB 6371 | ||
| Complement | 43 (23 dead and 20 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Wabana - Sydney - UK | ||
| Cargo | 10.200 tons of iron ore | ||
| History | At 08.54 hours on 20 Oct 1942, the unescorted Rose Castle was hit by a dud torpedo from U-69 (Gräf) in grid BB 6498 without being damaged. The xB-Dienst intercepted the distress message from the ship, which stopped for 20 minutes but then continued. The U-boat had fired its last torpedo and was not able to attack with the deck gun due to bad weather. | ||
| Notes on event | At 07.03 and 07.06 hours on 2 Nov 1942, U-518 fired two bow torpedoes and one stern torpedo at ore ships at anchor off Bell Island, Conception Bay, waiting to sail with convoy WB-9. The U-boat reported the sinking of three ore carriers, but two torpedoes sank the Rose Castle and one the P.L.M. 27. 22 crew members and one gunner from the Rose Castle (Master Walter J. MacDonald) were lost. The master, 17 crew members and two gunners were rescued by Canadian Fairmile motor launches. | ||
| On board | We have details of 26 people who were on board. | ||
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