This month in History 16th March 1943

[Brian Probetts (Site Admin)]

16 March 1943
German Wolf packs attack the North Atlantic convoys HX229 and SC122. 22 merchant ships are sunk, including the Canadian Star, from which three New Zealand seamen are lost. 16 to 19 March.


Canadian Star
British Motor merchant


Photo from City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 447-3771

Name Canadian Star
Type: Motor merchant
Tonnage 8,293 tons
Completed 1939 - Burmeister & Wain´s Maskin & Skibsbyggeri A/S, Copenhagen
Owner Blue Star Line Ltd, London
Homeport London
Date of attack 18 Mar 1943 Nationality: British


Fate Sunk by U-221 (Hans-Hartwig Trojer)

Position 53° 24'N, 28° 34'W - Grid AK 6897
Complement 88 (34 dead and 54 survivors).
Convoy HX-229

Route Sydney, NSW - Cristobal - Key West - New York (8 Mar) - Liverpool
Cargo 7806 tons of refrigerated cargo, including meat, cheese and butter
History Completed in February 1939

At 01.00 hours on 20 Jul 1941, U-126 (Bauer) sighted the unescorted and zig-zagging Canadian Star (Master Charles James Whatley Jones) and followed her until 02.42 hours, when two G7e torpedoes were fired at the ship in 49°15N/21°00W about 650 miles west of Lands End. Both were avoided by the ship because their tracks could be seen due to phosphorescence and Bauer decided to attack with the gun. The U-boat shelled its victim for about 10 minutes and scored three hits but accurate return fire forced them to break off the attack. Bauer finally gave up the attack about one hour later when it became clear that the ship was escaping too fast for the U-boat, at a speed well over 16 knots. The ship had been en route from Liverpool to Auckland with passengers and general cargo, goverment stores and mail. She arrived at Curaçao on 30 July and was repaired.
Notes on event At 16.43 hours on 18 March 1943, U-221 hit the Walter Q. Gresham in station #21 of the convoy HX-229 with a stern torpedo and sank her southeast of Cape Farewell. At 16.49 hours, one FAT and two standard torpedoes were fired. The FAT missed and detonated at the end of its run, while the other two struck the Canadian Star in station #23.
The Canadian Star (Master Robert David Miller) was hit simultaneously on the port side in the engine room and #5 hold. The explosions stopped the engines, blew the #5 hatch off and destroyed two lifeboats. She settled fast by the bow and finally sank by the stern at 17.10 hours. The crew and 22 passengers had difficulties to abandon ship in the bad weather, many drowning due to high seas that swamped lifeboats and rafts and others dying from exposure in the two hours before HMS Anemone (K 48) (LtCdr P.G.A. King, RNR) and HMS Pennywort (K 111) (Lt O.G. Stuart, RCNVR) picked up the survivors, but two of them died soon after being rescued. 33 crew members, six gunners and 15 passengers were landed at Gourock on 22 March. The master, 22 crew members, 2 gunners and nine passengers were lost.
The master Robert David Miller was posthumously awarded the Lloyds War Medal for bravery at sea.

[Lou Barron]

As a matter of fact to the sinking of the Canadian Star brought to mind was a survivor of that sinking is a very good friend of mine Darcy Hoffman who lives in Dunedin he is now in the Ross home and i was talking to him not long ago .
He was also a very good boxer in his younger days

[Lou Barron]

I can remember that Darcy told me that he changed his name when did a bit of boxing when he was in the UK because his name sounded to like a German name

[gray_marian]

Do you think this might be him Lou?

Darcy Hoffman
Global ID 143664
sex male
division light heavyweight
country New Zealand
residence Invercargill, New Zealand
won 6 (KO 5) + lost 8 (KO 4) + drawn 0 = 14
rounds boxed 117 KO% 35.71
biography

[Lou Barron]

Yes Marian thats him but unfortunatly he is not in the best of health just now

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Brian.
I just checked my book, it was one of the worst months of the war for sinking's. March 1943
61 ships sunk that month; with probably around 3500 seamen involved. It was a bad month for Britain.
Cheers Des

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