The story
German submarine U-403 fired 5 torpedoes at Allied convoy PQ-14 and made 2 hits on the civilian commodore's ship Empire Howard 200 miles north of Norway at 1245 hours; 29 were killed, 37 survived. Many of victims were killed by depth charges meant to hit U-403. Captain W. H. Lawrence of merchant ship Briarwood took over the civilian commodore role as his predecessor E. Rees was also killed.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.