William Horace Binch

Portsmouth Naval Memorial Panel 63, Column 1

Name Tricula
Type: Motor tanker
Tonnage 6,221 tons
Completed 1936 - Howaldtswerke AG, Kiel
Owner Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd, London
Homeport London
Date of attack 3 Aug 1942 Nationality: British

Fate Sunk by U-108 (Klaus Scholtz)
Position 11° 35'N, 56° 51'W - Grid EE 9476
Complement 59 (48 dead and 11 survivors).
Convoy E-6 (dispersed)
Route Curaçao - Trinidad (1 Aug) - Capetown
Cargo 8000 tons of crude oil
History Completed in August 1936
Notes on event
At 22.20 hours on 3 August 1942 the unescorted Tricula (Master Oswald Eustace Sparrow), dispersed from convoy E-6, was hit by three torpedoes from U-108 and sank rapidly about 250 miles northeast of Trinidad. The U-boat had chased another tanker since 14.40 hours, when they came across two unescorted ships and the commander decided to let the first ship escape. After sinking the Tricula, the U-boat surfaced to chase the other freighter but it was already out of sight. The master, 42 crew members, four gunners and one passenger were lost. Eight crew members, two gunners and one passenger were picked up by the Argentinian steam merchant Rio San Juan and landed at Fernando, Cuba. (Courtesy of uboat.net)

Unknown