St. Essylt
British Motor merchant
| Name | St. Essylt | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,634 tons | ||
| Completed | 1940 - J.L. Thompson & Sons Ltd, North Sands, Sunderland | ||
| Owner | South American Saint Line, Cardiff | ||
| Homeport | Cardiff | ||
| Date of attack | 4 Jul 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-375 (Jürgen Koenenkamp) | ||
| Position | 36° 44'N, 1° 31'E - Grid CH 8295 | ||
| Complement | 401 (4 dead and 397 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | KMS-18B | ||
| Route | Clyde (24 Jun) - Sicily | ||
| Cargo | 322 troops, 900 tons of military stores and two landing craft (LCM) | ||
| History | Completed in September 1940 | ||
| Notes on event | At 21.40 hours on 4 July 1943 U-375 fired a spread of four torpedoes at convoy KMS-18B and hit the St. Essylt (Master Stephen Diggins) in station #13 on the starboard side with one of them about 20 miles north-northwest of Cape Tenes, Algeria. The ship caught fire, was abandoned and eventually sank after an explosion at 05.45 hours on 5 July. One crew member, one gunner and two passengers were lost. The master, 53 crew members, 23 gunners and 320 military personnel were rescued and landed at Algiers: HMS Honeysuckle (K 27) (Lt H.H.D. MacKillican, DSC, RNR) picked up 276 survivors and the remaining men were picked up by HMS Rhododendron (K 78) (Lt O.B. Medley, RNVR) and HMRT Restive (W 39) (Lt D.M. Richards, RNR). | ||
| On board | We have details of 8 people who were on board. | ||
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