- PRECIOUS CARGO LOST

Built: 1912

Tonnage: 4,981 / 8,277 tons

Cargo: 4,894 tons of coal and 1,050 tons of military goods, including 11 Spitfire fighters.

Newport - Milford Haven - Table Bay - Alexandria 

Sunk 13/Jun/41 by U-107 on pos. 07º 49"N 23º 28"W.

11 Dead

23 Survivors.

Completed in March 1912 as British Angola for SS Angola Co Ltd (Maclay & McIntyre), Glasgow. 1917 renamed Baygola for Bay SS Co, London. 1921 sold to the French Government and renamed Port D’Alger. 1922 renamed Louis L.D. for Louis Dreyfus & Cie, Dunkirk. 1931 sold to Greece and renamed Pandias for J. Margaronis & others, Syra. 1937

At 11.57 hours on 13 June 1941 the unescorted Pandias (Master Petros Kontopoulos), dispersed from convoy OG-63, was hit on starboard side amidships by one G7a torpedo from U-107 about 430 miles south of the Cape Verde Islands, settled slowly by the bow and sank at 12.26 hours. The U-boat had first spotted the ship about 90 minutes earlier and had some troubles to remain in contact while overtaking her due to heavy tropical rain squalls, but was eventually in position for a submerged attack with the stern torpedo tubes. After the ship sank, the U-boat surfaced nearby and approached a lifeboat to question the survivors.

The master truthfully answered the questions about name, route and cargo of the ship and was given a position fix, cigarettes, water and rum. Hessler noted in the war diary that the occupants of the boat made a jolly impression and wondered if they will still be joyful after the voyage of 500 miles that lay before them. The survivors later landed in French Guinea and were interned by the Vichy French authorities, at least two of them died during internment.

By www.uboat.net