Sliedrecht was a Dutch tanker (5133 tonnes) that was sunk on 16 November 1939 by the German submarine U-28. The Dutch government[1] and English newspapers were critical of the Germans for sinking a neutral vessel en route to a neutral port in bad weather and making no provisions for the survivors.[2]Sliedrecht had the word "Holland" and a large Dutch flag painted on each side.[3]
Sinkingedit
Sliedrecht was en route to Norway with a full cargo of bulk petrol when she encountered a German submarine at 8:30pm on November 16.
Pieter Brons of Vlaardingen was one of five survivors of the event and gave his account to a newspaper reporter. He said that the ship was approximately 150 miles west of Ireland when a German submarine signaled her to heave-to. The sea was rough, so five crew set out for the German vessel in a small boat. The submarine commander inspected the ship's papers then decided to sink the vessel. He told the Dutchmen that there was no room for them aboard the German vessel and warned that if any distress signal was made Sliedrecht would be sunk immediately. They were given half an hour to abandon ship. The remaining 26 men aboard the Sliedrecht crammed into another life boat. The U-boat then fired a torpedo which struck and sank the Sliedrecht.
The morning after the sinking, the five survivors, who had their own small boat, saw no trace of the other lifeboat. They had a little bread and water, no compass and relied on the stars for navigation. The survivors remained at sea for seven days in an open boat[3] before sighting land on the night of November 22–23. The next morning they hailed the trawler, Merisa after passing Barra Head Lighthouse.[4] The trawler then delivered them to Oban where they were taken by ambulance to the West Highland cottage hospital.[5]
^"RESCUE SHIP WRECKED". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 1939-12-09. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^"SINKING OF DUTCH TANKER". Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954). 1939-12-23. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^ abc"CALLOUS SINKING OF DUTCH TANKER". News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954). 1939-11-25. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^"HOW SUBMARINE DARINGLY SANK GERMAN CRUISER". Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954). 1939-12-24. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
^"DUTCH TANKER'S FATE". West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954). 1939-12-26. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
February 28, 2024
sliedrecht, tanker, sliedrecht, dutch, tanker, 5133, tonnes, that, sunk, november, 1939, german, submarine, dutch, government, english, newspapers, were, critical, germans, sinking, neutral, vessel, route, neutral, port, weather, making, provisions, survivors,. Sliedrecht was a Dutch tanker 5133 tonnes that was sunk on 16 November 1939 by the German submarine U 28 The Dutch government 1 and English newspapers were critical of the Germans for sinking a neutral vessel en route to a neutral port in bad weather and making no provisions for the survivors 2 Sliedrecht had the word Holland and a large Dutch flag painted on each side 3 Sinking editSliedrecht was en route to Norway with a full cargo of bulk petrol when she encountered a German submarine at 8 30pm on November 16 Pieter Brons of Vlaardingen was one of five survivors of the event and gave his account to a newspaper reporter He said that the ship was approximately 150 miles west of Ireland when a German submarine signaled her to heave to The sea was rough so five crew set out for the German vessel in a small boat The submarine commander inspected the ship s papers then decided to sink the vessel He told the Dutchmen that there was no room for them aboard the German vessel and warned that if any distress signal was made Sliedrecht would be sunk immediately They were given half an hour to abandon ship The remaining 26 men aboard the Sliedrecht crammed into another life boat The U boat then fired a torpedo which struck and sank the Sliedrecht The morning after the sinking the five survivors who had their own small boat saw no trace of the other lifeboat They had a little bread and water no compass and relied on the stars for navigation The survivors remained at sea for seven days in an open boat 3 before sighting land on the night of November 22 23 The next morning they hailed the trawler Merisa after passing Barra Head Lighthouse 4 The trawler then delivered them to Oban where they were taken by ambulance to the West Highland cottage hospital 5 26 of the crew of 31 were lost at sea 3 References edit RESCUE SHIP WRECKED Sydney Morning Herald NSW 1842 1954 1939 12 09 p 18 Retrieved 2020 04 22 SINKING OF DUTCH TANKER Barrier Miner Broken Hill NSW 1888 1954 1939 12 23 p 3 Retrieved 2020 04 22 a b c CALLOUS SINKING OF DUTCH TANKER News Adelaide SA 1923 1954 1939 11 25 p 1 Retrieved 2020 04 22 HOW SUBMARINE DARINGLY SANK GERMAN CRUISER Sun Sydney NSW 1910 1954 1939 12 24 p 2 Retrieved 2020 04 22 DUTCH TANKER S FATE West Australian Perth WA 1879 1954 1939 12 26 p 6 Retrieved 2020 04 22 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sliedrecht tanker amp oldid 1199799094, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
