SHIPS HIT BRITAIN 240 * - A B C
19)BARON NEWLANDS U-68
Photo. www.photoship.co.uk
Built 1928
Tonnage: 3,386 / 5,770 tons
Cargo: 4,800 tons of manganese ore
Route: Takoradi - Freetown
Sunk 16 MAR 42 by U-68 on pos 04º 35’N 08º 32’W
8 Dead
20 Survivors
At 23.17 hours on 16 March 1942 the unescorted Baron Newlands (Master William Lindsay Ewing) was hit underneath the bridge by one torpedo from U-68 and sank immediately by the bow six miles south of Cape Palmas, Liberia. The U-boat had spotted the ship 15 hours earlier and missed with one G7a torpedo at 11.35 hours.
They then almost lost the ship in a thunderstorm and only the bright flashes allowed to keep contact. The Germans observed that the crew did not manage to launch a lifeboat, so they refrained from questioning the survivors. 14 crew members and four gunners were lost. The master, 17 crew members and two gunners landed at Grande Sesters and Piccaniani Cess, near Cape Palmas, Liberia. On 16 April they boarded one British Corvette and landed at Freetown on 18th.
By Baron Newlands (British Steam merchant) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net
