Italian submarine fates

Ships hit by Italian submarines


Sembilan

TypeCargo ship
CountryDutch Dutch
Built1922GRT6,633

Date of attack17 Apr 1943Time1230?
1130B (e)
FateSunk by submarine Leonardo da Vinci (T.V. Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia)
Position of attack32° 30'S, 35° 10'E
Complement86 (85 dead and 1 survivor)
Convoy
Notes At 1130B hours, the Dutch Sembilan (6,633 GRT, built 1922), carrying ammunition and LCP-780 and LCP-782 from Glasgow to Durban, was torpedoed and sunk by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The crew of 86 was made up of 28 Dutch, 11 British (2 Telegraphists and 9 gunners), 1 Polish engineer, 38 from British-India and 8 from the Dutch East Indies. There was only one survivor, an Indian lascar named Shamshen, who was picked up by the Da Vinci. He had a broken leg and was transferred to a Manaar lifeboat when this vessel was herself sunk the following day. Survivors of Manaar and the only survivor of Sembilan, were picked up on 29th April 1943.

Position of attack

Ships hit by Italian submarines