Italian submarine fates

Ships hit by Italian submarines

Type	Cargo ship
Country	British
Built	1942	GRT	8,007

Date of attack	18 Apr 1943	Time	0515Z sunk (e)
Fate	Sunk by submarine Leonardo da Vinci (T.V. Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia)
Position of attack	32° 30'S, 35° 10'E
Complement	98 (4 dead and 94 survivors)
Convoy
Notes	At 0315B hours, the British *Manaar* (8,007 GRT, built 1942), bound from Mombasa and Beira to Durban, was intercepted by Da Vinci and hit by a torpedo in no. 1 hold on the starboard side. The crew abandoned ship but the vessel did not sink immediately. At 0430B hours, survivors apparently another torpedo hit in no. 4 hold on the port side. Between 0545 and 0710 hours, the submarine also used her gun, firing intermittently about 23 100mm rounds of which 12 were hits. The ship sank at 0720 hours. Four were killed, 94 survivors including a lascar, the only survivor of *Sembilan* picked up earlier by *Manaar*, reached Port St Johns (South Africa) in four boats on 21st April 1943. The second Officer was picked up by the submarine and lost with her. Survivors described the submarine as about 300 ft long, freshly painted slate grey, no wood deck visible. One 4" deck gun flush on deck, two large machine guns on conning tower. According to the lascar, the crew numbered about 24 (over 60!) and were apparently mixed Italian and German (they were all Italians!).