HMS Culver (Y 87)

Sloop of the Banff class

Navy:

The Royal Navy

Type:

Sloop

Class:

Banff 

Pennant:

Y 87 

Built by:

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. (Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) 

Ordered:

 

Laid down:

 

Launched:

27 Nov, 1928 

Commissioned:

30 Apr, 1941 

Lost:

31 Jan, 1942 

 

History:

At 23.31 hours on 31 January 1942, U-105 fired a salvo of four torpedoes at the convoy SL-98 and observed two hits and a large explosion. Schuch thought that he had hit an ammunition freighter, but in fact it was HMS Culver (Lt. Cdr. R.T. Gordon-Duff, RN) that had blown up with the loss of the commanding officer, seven officers and 118 ratings. 

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 31 Jan, 1942 by U-105 (Schuch). See below for a brief history on U-105.

Former name:

USCG Mendota

U-105

Type

IXB

Laid down

16 Nov, 1939

AG Weser, Bremen

Commissioned

10 Sep, 1940

Kptlt. Georg Schewe

Commanders

10 Sep, 1940 - 6 Jan, 1942  

Kptlt. Georg Schewe (Knights Cross)

7 Jan, 1942 - 30 Sep, 1942  

Heinrich Schuch

1 Oct, 1942 - 29 Oct, 1942  

Oblt. Hans-Adolf Schweichel

29 Oct, 1942 - 2 Jun, 1943  

Kptlt. Jrgen Nissen

Career

9 patrols

10 Sep, 1940 - 31 Dec, 1940 - 2. Flotilla (training)
1 Jan, 1941 - 2 Jun, 1943 - 2. Flotilla (front boat)

Successes

22 ships sunk for a total of 123.924 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 1.546 tons

Fate

Sunk 2 June, 1943 near Dakar, in position 14.15N, 17.35W, by depth charges from a one-of-a-kind French Potez-CAMS 141 flying boat named "Antars" of Flotille d'exploration 4E, French Naval Air Force. 53 dead (all hands lost).

While crossing the Bay of Biscay during the day on 12 June, 1942 the boat was attacked by an Australian Sunderland aircraft from RAAF Sqdn 10.

The U-boat sought shelter in El Ferrol, Spain right after the attack on the 12th of June and did not leave again until the 28th when she departed for Lorient which she reached on the 30th. She was apparently seriously damaged as she did not sail again until 23 Nov, 1942.

The aircraft that got the boat
The 4-engine flying boat that sank U-105 was the only one of that design built. The aircraft, named after a star as tradition in the French Navy, was based at Dakar and she sank the boat after a 2 hour chase.