Donald Richard Blease

On March 13, 1943, the Sembilangan was traveling as part of Allied Convoy OS-44, positioned roughly 190 miles west of Cape Finisterre.The Attack: The convoy was ambushed by the German U-boat U-107.The Explosion: The Sembilangan was struck by a single torpedo. Because its cargo hold was tightly packed with highly volatile ammunition, the torpedo triggered a massive secondary explosion. The ship completely disintegrated within seconds.The Sole Survivor: Out of the entire crew (including Master Pieter Maarten Leguit), there was only one survivor. The ship's fourth engineer was violently blown overboard by the blast, managed to pull himself onto a passing raft from another torpedoed ship (Oporto), and was later rescued by the corvette HMS Spiraea. (AI)

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