Ships › KASONGO
S/S KASONGO
Lost during the Second World War
- Type
- Steam merchant
- Tonnage
- 5,254 GRT
- Built
- 1918 – A. Stephen & Sons Ltd, Linthouse, Glasgow
- Owner
- Compagnie Maritime Belge (Lloyd Royal) SA, Antwerp
- Home port
- Antwerp
- Date
- 26 February 1941
- Fate
- Sunk by U-47 (Günther Prien)
- Attacker
- U-47 (Günther Prien)
- Convoy
- OB-290
- Voyage
- Liverpool → Matadi
- Cargo
- General cargo and ammunition
- Position
- 55.8333, -14.3333 · grid AM 4236
Position of the attack. Click the map to enable zoom.
Crew list (44 names)
The voyage
- Departure
- Liverpool · 23 February 1941
- Destination
- Matadi · never reached
- Sunk
- 26 February 1941
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master (Kapitein) | Mathieu Emile | Survived | |
| 1st Officer (1ste officier) | Buyck Pierre | Survived | |
| 2nd Officer (2de officier) | Jacquy Roger | Survived | |
| 3rd Officer (3de officier) | Dechesne Paul | Survived | |
| Cadet (Kadet) | Lacroix Jean-Pierre | Survived | |
| Cadet (Kadet) | Barbe Jacques | Survived | |
| Radio Officer (Marconist) | Dupont Jacques | Survived | |
| Carpenter (Timmerman) | Lindqvist Alfred | Finland | Survived |
| Boatswain (Bootsman) | Suttels Karel | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | De Schietere de Loppem Henri | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Dillon Joseph | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Hoorne James | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Hoorne Désiré | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Temmerman Léopold | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Van Put Adolf | Survived | |
| Ordinary Seaman (Lichtmatroos) | †Hunter Leslie | Canada | Lost |
| Chief Engineer (Hfd-werktuigk.) | Maes Henri | Survived | |
| 2nd Engineer Officer (2de mecanicien) | Schmitz Edward | Survived | |
| 3rd Engineer Officer (3de mecanicien) | Benoy Henri | Survived | |
| 4th Engineer Officer (4de mecanicien) | Mennes Willem | Survived | |
| Donkeyman | Billen Eugeen | Survived | |
| Donkeyman | Neeckx Henri | Survived | |
| Donkeyman | Van Hemelryck Albert | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Moreira Manuel | Portugal | Survived |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Shu Chung She | China | Survived |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Ching Chan Zeay | China | Survived |
| Head Fireman (Stoker-capita) | †Longo Emile | Congo | Lost |
| Fireman (Stoker) | †Duli Ligenge | Congo | Lost |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Goma Kuikala | Congo | Survived |
| Fireman (Stoker) | †Mabunda Jean | Congo | Lost |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Mondjembe Jean | Congo | Survived |
| Fireman (Stoker) | N'Gombo Alphonse | Congo | Survived |
| Fireman (Stoker) | †Simba Louis | Congo | Lost |
| Trimmer (Tremmer) | Likunamangadu a single name only in the source | Congo | Survived |
| Trimmer (Tremmer) | Komango Victor | Congo | Survived |
| Trimmer (Tremmer) | Pongi Malenda | Congo | Survived |
| Steward | Van Haesendonck Willem | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Lambrechts Antoine | Survived | |
| Cook and Baker (Kok-bakker) | Timmermans Jan | Survived | |
| Assistant Steward (Assistant-steward) | †Filibert Amandus | Lost | |
| Messroom Steward (Messroom-steward) | Stanger Thomas | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Laundryman (Lavadère) | Makolo Grégoire | Congo | Survived |
| Gunner | Alewijnse Corneel | Survived | |
| Gunner | De Gier Jozef | Netherlands | Survived |
The convoy OB-290
- Dates
- 26 February 1941
- Merchant ships
- 32
- Sunk
- 3 · 12,087 tons
- Damaged
- 1 · 8,106 tons
The dotted line follows the great circle the OB series ran, Liverpool to North America, 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 (7)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WN.7 | 12 August 1940 | Clyde – Methil | |
| FS.255 | 17 August 1940 | Tyne – Southend | |
| FN.281 | 15 September 1940 | Southend – Methil | |
| OA.231 | 18 October 1940 | Methil - Dispersed | |
| SL/MKS.60 | 22 December 1940 | Freetown – Liverpool | |
| OB.288 | 18 February 1941 | Liverpool - Dispersed | 10 sunk |
| OB.290 | 23 February 1941 | Liverpool - Dispersed | 9 sunk |
The source’s search page broke off halfway for this ship; this list may be incomplete.
Sources
Crew list from the printed source.