The story
German submarine U-159 sank US ship Illinois 450 miles southeast of Bermuda at 0253 hours; 32 were killed, 6 survived. In the same general area at 0255 hours, U-558 sank Dutch ship Triton with the deck gun; 6 were killed, 30 survived. Several hours later, U-553 sank British ship Mattawin off northeastern United States at 0718 hours; all aboard survived. Between 0332 and 0705 hours, U-213 gave chase to Norwegian ship Berganger, which evaded all 5 torpedo attacks, but at 2027 hours she would fall prey to U-578 southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States; 4 were killed, 43 survived. Finally, 85 miles south of Freetown, British West Africa, Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sank Panamanian schooner Reine Marie Stewart.
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.