Ships › BELGIAN SOLDIER
S/S BELGIAN SOLDIER
Lost during the Second World War
- Type
- Steam merchant
- Tonnage
- 7,167 GRT
- Built
- 1941 – William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland
- Owner
- Belgische Staat
- Home port
- Antwerp
- Date
- 3 August 1942
- Fate
- Sunk by U-607 (Ernst Mengersen)
- Attacker
- U-607 (Ernst Mengersen)
- Convoy
- ON-115 (straggler)
- Voyage
- Glasgow → United States
- Position
- 45.8667, -47.2167 · grid BC 5746
Position of the attack. Click the map to enable zoom.
Crew list (53 names)
The voyage
- Departure
- Glasgow · 24 July 1942
- Destination
- United States · never reached
- Sunk
- 3 August 1942
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master (Kapitein) | Sanglier Henri | Survived | |
| 1st Officer (1ste officier) | Smets Karel | Survived | |
| 2nd Officer (2de officier) | Reygaert Henri | Survived | |
| 3rd Officer (3de officier) | Colot Georges | Survived | |
| 1st Officer (supernumerary) (1ste officier suppl.) | Van Den Bulcke B. | Survived | |
| 3rd Officer (supernumerary) (3de officier suppl.) | Van Houtryve J. | Survived | |
| Radio Officer (Marconist) | Delpire Georges | Survived | |
| Boatswain (Bootsman) | †De Haese Frederik | Lost | |
| Carpenter (Timmerman) | †Van Welsenaer Georges | Lost | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Apere Henri | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | †Brouard Léon | France | Lost |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | De Laet David | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | †Dos Santos José | Portugal | Lost |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | †Gray Alfred | United Kingdom | Lost |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | †Labbeke Georges | Lost | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Queffelou Hippolyte | France | Survived |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | †Rondel Adrien | France | Lost |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Temari André | France | Survived |
| Ordinary Seaman (Lichtmatroos) | Cheshire John | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Ordinary Seaman (Lichtmatroos) | Brown Geoffrey | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Chief Engineer (Chef-werktuigk.) | †Elen Prudent | Lost | |
| 2nd Engineer Officer (2de werktuigk.) | Croenen Karel | Survived | |
| 3rd Engineer Officer (3de werktuigk.) | Gossens P. | Survived | |
| 4th Engineer Officer (4de werktuigk.) | †Meyskens Pierre | Lost | |
| Donkeyman | †Dufour Emiel | Lost | |
| Donkeyman | †Goverden Jan | Lost | |
| Donkeyman | Van Roosbroek Victor | Survived | |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Brown S. | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Brown J. | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Davies J. | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Johnson R. | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Kreltsheim D. | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | †Lasekan O. | United Kingdom | Lost |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Mohamed A. | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Oluwole Fr. | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Pedro W. | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | Pinto José | Portugal | Survived |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | †Sylla A. | United Kingdom | Lost |
| Fireman and Trimmer (Stoker-Tremmer) | †Walker S. | United Kingdom | Lost |
| Steward | †Huybrechts Frans | Lost | |
| Messroom Steward (Messroom-steward) | Witvrouwen Joseph | Survived | |
| Assistant steward | †Van De Vyver Joseph | Lost | |
| 1st Cook (1ste kok) | †Thys Jan | Lost | |
| 1st Cook (supernumerary) (1ste kok suppl.) | †Van Dinter Théo | Lost | |
| Cabin Boy (Cabin-boy) | †Mudge Eric | United Kingdom | Lost |
| Galley Boy (Koksjongen) | †Nicholls Anthony | United Kingdom | Lost |
| Chief Gunner (Hfd-gunner) | Phelan Joseph | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Gunner | Burrows Gilbert | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Gunner | †Davies Alfred | United Kingdom | Lost |
| Gunner | James George | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Gunner | Mac Cabe Michael | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Gunner | Mac Dougall Duncan | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Gunner | Miller George | United Kingdom | Survived |
The convoy ON-115
- Route
- Outward, northbound (North Atlantic)
- Dates
- 29 July – 3 August 1942
- Escort
- Canadian group C3 under Commander Wallace: Saguenay and Skeena with four corvettes
- Merchant ships
- 41
- Sunk
- 3 · 21,456 tons
- Damaged
- 2 · 17,794 tons
The dotted line follows the great circle the ON series ran, Liverpool to New York, with the coastal bends the fairway imposes. The red point is where the Belgian ship was hit, from the U-boat’s attack report.
About the line on this map
A convoy steered the great circle: the shortest way over the globe, not the straight line on the map. That is why the Atlantic crossing here runs so far north, and why ships on that route were hit around 55 to 58 degrees and not at 48. The bends closer to land follow the fairway – the North Channel above Ireland, round Land’s End, through the Strait of Gibraltar.
The line is the route of the series, not the track that one convoy actually steered. The Admiralty shifted convoys north or south from sailing to sailing, according to the season and where the U-boats were; ONS-154 was deliberately routed south past the Azores in December 1942. And a straggler or a dispersed ship was by definition no longer with the group. Where the red point sits far from the line, that is usually what you are looking at.
Convoys (1)
From the Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Convoys only, not independent voyages: a ship sailing alone does not appear. See the convoy page.
| Convoy | Departed | Route | Sunk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ON.115 | 24 July 1942 | Liverpool – Boston | 3 sunk |
The source’s search page broke off halfway for this ship; this list may be incomplete.
Sources
Crew list from the printed source.