Italian submarine fates

Ships hit by Italian submarines

Type	Cargo ship
Country	British
Built	1918	GRT	5,759

Date of attack	14 Mar 1941	Time	2349 2150 (e)
Fate	Sunk by submarine Emo (C.C. Giuseppe Roselli Lorenzini)
Position of attack	58° 52'N, 21° 13'W
Complement	(no casualties, 21 survivors)
Convoy
Notes	At 1118 hours, visibility was poor due to frequent rain squalls, a steamer was observed on a westerly course. Emo maneuvered with the intention of carrying a surface attack during the night, as her attack periscope was defective. At 1307 hours, she sighted another steamer on an opposite course, zigzagging on a mean course of 090-095°. This was the British steamer *Western Chief* (5,759 GRT, built 1918) so she switched target to attack her. At 2300 hours, Emo fired one torpedo (450mm, W 200 type) from a stern tube from a distance of 1,200-1,300 metres at the British steamer *Western Chief* (5,759 GRT, built 1918). The track could not be observed and it missed. At 2319 hours, a second torpedo (450mm, W 200 type) followed from a stern tube, at a distance of 800-900 metres. It had an irregular course and also missed. At 2349 hours, a third torpedo (533mm, W 270 type) was fired from 500-600 metres at *Western Chief. This time it hit and the vessel sank. Twenty-one survivors were picked up by the Dutch steamer Venus* and landed at Ponto Delgada on 26 March.