Athelbeach
British Motor tanker
Photo courtesy of the Allen Collection
| Name | Athelbeach | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 6,568 tons | ||
| Completed | 1931 - Cammell Laird & Co Ltd, Birkenhead | ||
| Owner | United Molasses Co Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | Liverpool | ||
| Date of attack | 7 Mar 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-99 (Otto Kretschmer) | ||
| Position | 60° 30'N, 13° 30'W - Grid AM 12 | ||
| Complement | 44 (7 dead and 37 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | OB-293 | ||
| Route | Greenock - New York | ||
| Cargo | Ballast | ||
| History | Completed in March 1931 | ||
| Notes on event | On 7 March 1941, U-70 (Matz) attacked convoy OB-293 southeast of Iceland, but was lost after a second attack at 07.25 hours. The survivors claimed that they had hit three ships in the first attack at 04.45 hours and another in the second. In fact they had hit Athelbeach and Delilian in station #71 and #61 during the first attack and Mijdrecht during the second. At 06.40 hours on 7 March, U-99 torpedoed the already damaged Athelbeach (Master Malcolm McIntyre) and the crew abandoned ship. At 07.15 hours, the U-boat began to shell the tanker and sank her with a coup de grâce 15 minutes later. The master and six crew members were lost. 37 crew members were picked up by HMS Camellia (K 31) (LtCdr A.E. Willmot, RNR) and landed at Greenock. | ||
| On board | We have details of 7 people who were on board. | ||
Attack entries for Athelbeach
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Loss type | Tons | Nat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1941 | U-70 | Kptlt. Joachim Matz | Damaged | 6,568 | |
| 7 Mar 1941 | U-99 | KrvKpt. Otto Kretschmer | Sunk | 6,568 | |
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