1942 – May 27, US freighter Syros sunk by German U-boat ~200M SW Bear Isl., Arctic–12

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-13-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–12  Cressman. The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Naval Inst., 1999.

–12  uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats., Syros. American Steam Merchant.”

Narrative Information

Cressman: “U.S. freighter Syros, in convoy PQ 16, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-703 approximately 200 miles southwest of Bear Island, 72°35’N, 05°30’E. Of the 39 souls on board (37 merchant seamen and two Navy signalmen), 27 civilians and one signalman survive, rescued by British minesweeper HMS Hazard.”

uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats., Syros. American Steam Merchant.”

“Name                         Syros

“Type                          Steam merchant

“Tonnage                     6, 191 tons

“Completed                 1920 – George A. Fuller Co., Wilmington, NC

“Owner                       Lykes Bros. SS Co. Inc., New Orleans LA

“Homeport                  Galveston

“Date of attack:           26 May 1942

“Nationality:                American

“Fate                            Sunk by U-703 (Heinz Bielfeld)

“Position                      72° 35’N, 5° 30’E – Grid AB 5581

“Complement              40 (12 dead and 28 survivors)

….

“Route                         Philadelphia – Reykjavik – Murmansk

“Cargo                         6390 tons of general war cargo, including ammunition

“History                       Completed in October 1920

“Notes on event          

“At 02.59 hours on 26 May 1942 the Syros (Master Cornelius Albert Holmes) in convoy P!-16 was hit on the port side by two torpedoes from U-703 about 200 miles southwest of Bear Island. The first torpedo had been spotted by other ships in convoy and was fired on, but it struck abreast of her stack in the engine room and was followed by a second torpedo which hit at the #2 hatch, causing the ammunition in the cargo to explode. The ship broke in two and sank within 80 seconds. The eight officers, 30 crewmen and two armed guards were not able to abandon ship in the lifeboats because both on the port side had been destroyed by the explosions and the others could not be launched in time. The survivors left on three rafts or jumped overboard and clung to wreckage until they were picked up by HMS Hazard (J 02) (LtCdr J.R.A. Seymour, RN) and landed at Murmansk, but two of them died of exposure and were buried at sea. The master, two officers, eight crewmen and one armed guard were lost.

“26 survivors boarded the American steam merchant Hybert and left for Reykjavik in convoy QP-13, but on 5 July convoy unintentionally entered a British minefield in bad weather northwest of Iceland and the ship sank after striking a mine in 66°34N/23°14W. All hands safely abandoned ship, were picked up by HMS Lady Madeleine (FY 283) (T/Lt W.G. Ogden, RNVR) and FFL Roselys (K 57) and landed at Reykjavik.”

Sources

Cressman, Robert J. The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Naval Institute, 1999. Transcribed and formatted for HTML by Patrick Clancey. Accessed 6-10-2024 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron.html

uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats., Syros. American Steam Merchant.” Accessed 6-13-2024 at:

https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1708.html