Benvrackie
British Steam merchant
Benvrackie under her former name Darian
| Name | Benvrackie | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 6,434 tons | ||
| Completed | 1922 - D. & W. Henderson & Co Ltd, Partrick, Glasgow | ||
| Owner | Ben Line Steamers (William Thomson & Co), Leith | ||
| Homeport | Leith | ||
| Date of attack | 13 May 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-105 (Georg Schewe) | ||
| Position | 0° 49'N, 20° 15'W - Grid FD 36 | ||
| Complement | 83 (28 dead and 55 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | OB-312 (dispersed) | ||
| Route | London - Loch Ewe - Capetown - Beira | ||
| Cargo | 5850 tons of general cargo, including silver and one aircraft (Gipsy Moth) | ||
| History | Completed in September 1922 as Darian for F. Leyland & Co Ltd, Liverpool. 1934 sold to Charente SS Co Ltd (T. & J. Harrison) Liverpool. 1939 renamed Benvrackie for Ben Line Steamers (William Thomson & Co), Leith. | ||
| Notes on event | At 07.48 hours on 13 May 1941 the Benvrackie (Master William Edward Rawlings Eyton-Jones), dispersed from convoy OB-312, was hit aft by two G7e torpedoes from U-105 and sank after 4 minutes about 700 miles southwest of Freetown. On 9 May, the ship had picked up 25 survivors from the Lassell, which had been sunk by U-107 (Hessler) on 30 April. U-105 had spotted the zigzagging ship in the evening on 11 May, missed with one G7a and one G7e torpedo at 20.30 and 20.54 hours on 12 May and finally sank her after a chase of 34 hours. 13 crew members and 15 survivors were lost. The survivors were questioned by the Germans. The master, 40 crew members, four gunners and ten survivors were rescued after 13 days in lifeboats by the British hospital ship HMHS Oxfordshire and landed at Freetown. The master William Edward Rawlings Eyton-Jones was awarded the Lloyds War Medal for bravery at sea. | ||
| On board | We have details of 33 people who were on board. | ||
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