SS Avila Star
Passenger-Cargo Liner
Built by John Brown & Co. Ltd, Clydebank.
Completed: 1927
Owned by Blue Star Line
Length: 551 ft.
Beam: 68.2 ft.
Service Speed: 16 knots
14,443 tons
Nationality: British
|
SS Avila Star | |||||||
Passenger-Cargo Liner Nationality: British |
| ||||||
The Blue Star liner, Avila Star (Master: John Fisher) was sailing unescorted from Buenos Aries to Liverpool with a cargo of 5,659 tons of frozen meat. On July 5, 1942, when she had reached a position north east of the Azores, she was torpedoed and sunk by U-201. This was a chance meeting since U-201 was en route to join the wolf pack at the time. The master, 66 crew members and 17 passengers were lost. 93 crew members, six gunners and 13 passengers were picked up by the Portuguese destroyer Lima (D 333) and the Portuguese sloop Pedro Nunes (A 528) and landed at Ponta Delgada, Azores. The position of the sinking was given by U-201 as grid reference CF 4953 (38°04'N, 22°48'W). More information on the Avila Star may be found at http://www.bluestarline.org/avila1.html. | |
 |
