SHIPS HIT FRANCE 6 - FRENCH SHIPS LOST
5)VILLE DE ROUEN (CAPTURED)*
https://www.naval-history.net/Maps1939-08RNStations.GIF
Photo. https://www.marine-marchande.net/Perchoc/Perchoc-40/ville%20de%20rouen.jpg
Built: 1919
Tonnage: 5,083 / 7,037 tons
Cargo: 5,500 tons of general cargo
Route. Glasgow - Ascension Is - St. Helena - Beira
Captured 20 Jul 41 by HMS Dunedin approx. pos 34º00'S 32º 00'E
Sunk 28 DEC 42 by U-662 on pos. 43° 25'N 27° 15'W
0 Dead
62 Survivors
Launched as Ville de Nantes completed in October 1919 as Ville de Rouen for Nouvelle Compagnie Havraise Péninsulaire de Navigation, Le Havre. On 20 Jul 1941, the Vichy French ship was captured by HMS Dunedin (Capt R.S. Lovatt, RN) east of Natal, South Africa. The ship was later transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).
At 22.02 hours on 28 Dec 1942, U-225 (Leimkühler) fired torpedoes at convoy ONS-154 north of the Azores and reported two ships sunk and two others probably sunk. In fact, the Melmore Head in station #113 was hit by two torpedoes and blew up and the stern torpedo hit the Ville de Rouen in station #102, which was later finished off by U-662.
The Ville de Rouen (Master Herbert Colin Skinns) sank after being hit by a spread of two torpedoes. The master, 61 crew members and nine gunners were picked up by HMCS Shediac (K-110) (T/Lt J.E. Clayton, RCNR) and landed at Ponta Delgada, Azores.
By https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/2554.html
