- NORWEGIAN SHIPS CARGO LOST

Built 1937

Tonnage 10,990 / 16,008 tons

Cargo: Ballast

Route: Freetown - Trinidad

Sunk 3 JUN 42 by U-126 on pos. 07º 17’N 43º 06’W

0 Dead

39 Survivors

At 11.24 hours on 3 Jun, 1942, the unescorted Høegh Giant (Master Finn Ager Madsen) was hit by one torpedo amidships out of a three torpedo spread from U-126 about 400 miles east of Guiana. 30 minutes later, the U-boat surfaced about 4000 meters away, as the ship proceeds and tried to stop the tanker with gunfire, but before it can be realized the first shots from the tanker’s defensive gun laid near the U-boat, which had to submerge immediately and followed the ship to get in a favorable attack position.

At 01.40 hours on 4 June, U-126 fired a two torpedo spread in 07°32" N 44°36"W (grid EP 6334) and hit the tanker amidships and in the bow. The ship then stopped and all 39 crew members abandoned ship in the lifeboats. The U-boat then tried to sink the wreck by gunfire but the attempts failed and she had to be sunk by a coup de grâce at 04.24 hours in 07°17"N/43°06"W (grid EP 6343). In Trinidad they get aboard the Robert E. Lee, which was sunk by U-166 (Kuhlmann) en route to New Orleans with 268 passengers (mostly survivors of other sinkings) on 30 July. All Norwegian passengers were saved.

According to Norwegian reports the U-boat then questioned the master and when he did not understand what was being said, a series of bullets were sent over the lifeboat, injuring one man in the arm. Four survivors were rescued after 15 days in a 17\' gig. The remaining 35 survivors in two lifeboats landed after ten days at Devil Island where they were taken care of by those who were interned there.

After six days they were given the choice of staying there as internees until the end of the war or leave, whereupon they quickly chose the latter. On 20 June, they landed in Paramaribo, from there they were taken to Trinidad on board the Lindvangen.

By Høegh Giant (Norwegian Motor tanker) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net