The Merchant Navy transported food, fuel, troops, and ammunition throughout the Second World War. Crew members on ships ranged from teenagers to older men.
Merchant Navy
M.V. Afrika went down on 7th February 1943 en route from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to Liverpool, England. The torpedoes of U-402 caused the deaths of 24 men.
British merchant vessel M.V. Empire Light came under attack from U-638 on 7th March 1941 with the resulting loss of 39 crew members and 6 Royal Navy gunners.
On 3rd February 1943, M.V. Inverilen came under attack as part of Convoy HX-224 south of Iceland, killing the Master, 24 crew members, and 6 naval gunners.
Several seafaring men with connections to Northern Ireland died on S.S. Cadillac as the British merchant tanker came under torpedo attack on 1st March 1941.
S.S. Castlehill was a coal-carrying vessel of the fleet of John Kelly Ltd. of Belfast. It went down under attack in the Bristol Channel on 2nd March 1941.
The British Steam Coaster S.S. Corbet struck a mine in the mouth of the Mersey off Herculaneum Dock en route from Garston to Belfast with a cargo of coal.
On 7th March 1943, U-591 torpedoed S.S. Empire Impala, sailing with Convoy SC-121 in the North Atlantic. Petty Officer Matthew Thomas Archer died as a result.
On 9th January 1943, S.S. Empire Lytton came under attack as part of Convoy TM-1 west of the Canary Islands killing Chief Officer, 10 crew members, and gunners.
On 6th February 1943, S.S. Fort Babine came under attack off the Algerian coast. An aerial torpedo strike killed 6 crew members and damaged the merchant vessel.
S.S. Fort Lamy went down following a U-Boat torpedo attack on 8th March 1943 with the loss of 39 crew members, many of whom had connections to Northern Ireland.
S.S. Kenbane Head went down after coming under attack near Greenland. Many of the Merchant Navy crew who died hailed from Northern Ireland.
S.S. Loch Lomond was a British Merchant vessel, sank in 1940 by the formidable U-47. Among the survivors was Belfast-born Chief Officer Alexander Major.
On 4th June 1940, S.S. River Humber sank after colliding with H.M.S. Folkstone en route in ballast from Dublin, Ireland to Preston, Lancashire, England.
S.S. Testbank sank along with sixteen other merchant vessels following a devastating Luftwaffe aerial attack on the port of Bari, Italy on 2nd December 1943.
S.S. Thornliebank exploded on 29th November 1941 after coming under attack from U-43. All on board died as a result including George Wilfred Bell of Co. Armagh.
On 2nd December 1940, U-47 fired a single torpedo, striking S.S. Ville d'Arlon amidships and sinking the British merchant vessel in the mid-Atlantic ocean.
