Merisaar
Estonian Steam merchant
Photo courtesy of Hillar Kalmar
| Name | Merisaar | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 2,136 tons | ||
| Completed | 1900 - Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Trieste | ||
| Owner | A/S Merilaid & Co, Tallinn | ||
| Homeport | Tallinn | ||
| Date of attack | 12 Jul 1940 | Nationality:  Estonian | |
| Fate | Captured by U-99 (Otto Kretschmer) | ||
| Position | 50° 51'N, 13° 55'W - Grid BE 3224 | ||
| Complement | ? men (0 dead and ? survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | New Orleans - Clyde | ||
| Cargo | Lumber | ||
| History | Completed in July 1900 as Austria-Hungarian Anna Goich for G. Goich, Trieste. After the First World War sold to Estonia and 1930 renamed Merisaar. | ||
| Notes on event | At 22.31 hours on 12 July 1940, U-99 missed the unescorted Merisaar with a stern torpedo from a distance of 500 meters due to rough seas. The U-boat surfaced and stopped the ship by shots across her bow with the 20mm AA gun. After the crew abandoned ship and the master was questioned, a G7e torpedo was fired at 23.50 hours but it also missed. The bad weather prevented the use of the deck gun, so Kretschmer ordered the crew to reboard the ship and to set course directly for Bordeaux. On 15 July, the Merisaar was bombed and sunk by a German aircraft south of Queenstown. | ||
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