https://www.naval-history.net/Maps1939-08RNStations.GIF
Photo. www.photoship.co.uk
Built: 1921
Tonnage: 5,961 / 10,125 tons
Cargo: 39 South African Defence troops and 800 mules
Route: Durban - Karachi
Sunk 3 Mar 1943 by U-160 on pos. 32° 47'S 30° 48'E
38 Dead
88 Survivors
The steamship Nirpura with 737 horses, mules and donkeys on board was steaming in convoy from Durban on March 3rd, 1943, when she was torpedoed by a submarine off East London. The attack took place during darkness but the vessel did not sink until daybreak, when she broke in two. Two officers, six Indian ratings, of whom three belonged to another vessel, and about 30 South African Army mule tenders were lost.
By Dictionary of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam