Ships › LEOPOLDVILLE
S/S LEOPOLDVILLE
Troop transport or packet boat
More photographs (8)
The passenger ship Leopoldville. Louis Claes · Public domain · Commons
The steamer Leopoldville. Photographer unknown · Public domain · Commons
The steamer Leopoldville. Louis Claes · Public domain · Commons
The steamer Leopoldville. Louis Claes · Public domain · Commons
The steamer Leopoldville. Photographer unknown · Public domain · Commons
Leopoldville. Louis Claes · Public domain · Commons
The ms Leopoldville. Photographer unknown · Public domain · Commons
The ms Leopoldville, with a mountain landscape. Photographer unknown · Public domain · Commons
- Type
- Troop transport
- Tonnage
- 11,509 GRT
- Built
- 1929 – John Cockerill SA, Hoboken, Antwerp
- Owner
- Compagnie Maritime Belge (Lloyd Royal) SA, Antwerp
- Home port
- Antwerp
- Date
- 24 December 1944
- Fate
- Sunk by U-486 (Gerhard Meyer)
- Attacker
- U-486 (Gerhard Meyer)
- Convoy
- WEP-3
- Voyage
- Southampton → Cherbourg
- Cargo
- 2,235 troops and war materiel
- Position
- 49.7500, -1.5667 · grid BF 3553
Position of the attack. Click the map to enable zoom.
Crew list (102 names)
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commander (Commandant) | †Limbor Charles | Lost | |
| Commander (relief) (Comm. (verv.)) | Verworst François | Survived | |
| Master (Kapitein) | De Pierpont Robert | Survived | |
| 1st Officer (1ste officier) | Brognion Carl | Survived | |
| 2nd Officer (2de officier) | Lardinoy François | Survived | |
| 2nd Officer jr (2de officier jr) | Beeken Paul | Survived | |
| 3rd Officer (3de officier) | Kundycki Jean | Survived | |
| 4th Officer (4de officier) | Evrard René | Survived | |
| 4th Officer jr (4de officier jr) | Delvaux Pierre | Survived | |
| 1st Radio Officer (1ste marconist) | Ryon Robert | Survived | |
| 2nd Radio Officer (2de marconist) | Wuyts Louis | Survived | |
| 3rd Radio Officer (3de marconist) | Van Ransbeeck Pierre | Survived | |
| 1st Carpenter (1ste timmerman) | †Van De Kerkhove Andre | Lost | |
| 2nd Carpenter (2de timmerman) | Courtel Henri | Survived | |
| Boatswain (Bootsman) | Hermans Henri | Survived | |
| Quartermaster (Kwartiermeester) | Van Begin Pierre | Survived | |
| Quartermaster (Kwartiermeester) | De Munter Gaston | Survived | |
| Quartermaster (Kwartiermeester) | D'Hoore Jozef | Survived | |
| Quartermaster (Kwartiermeester) | Manternach Theodore | Survived | |
| Quartermaster (Kwartiermeester) | Vilain Joseph | Survived | |
| Quartermaster (Kwartiermeester) | Weymans Albert | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Appels Oscar | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Bancquaert Gustaaf | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Ceusters Frans | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Claeys Raymond | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Diercks Jules | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Hoorne Kamiel | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Mc Carthy surname only in the source | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Rappe Henri | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Roose Roger | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Allary Alfred | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Van Wetter Adolf | Survived | |
| Chief Engineer (Chef-mecanicien) | Spillemackers Francis | Survived | |
| 2nd Engineer Officer (2de mecanicien) | Treve Daniel | Survived | |
| 2nd Engineer Officer jr (2de mecanic. jr) | Gosseye Robert | Survived | |
| 2nd Engineer Officer jr (2de mecanic. jr) | Minne Pierre | Survived | |
| 2nd Engineer Officer jr (2de mecanic. jr) | Stuer Edouard | Survived | |
| 3rd Engineer Officer jr (3de mecanic. jr) | Kloeck Pierre | Survived | |
| 3rd Engineer Officer jr (3de mecanic. jr) | Teugels Jean | Survived | |
| 3rd Engineer Officer jr (3de mecanic. jr) | Vreys Jean | Survived | |
| 4th Engineer Officer jr (4de mecanic. jr) | Bosch Fernand | Survived | |
| 4th Engineer Officer jr (4de mecanic. jr) | Hendrickx Henri | Survived | |
| 5th Engineer Officer (5de mecanicien) | Puis Roger | Survived | |
| Deck Engineer (Dek-mecanicien) | Grieten Roger | Survived | |
| 1st Electrician (1ste electricien) | Vissers Jozef | Survived | |
| 2nd Electrician (2de electricien) | Filin Léon | Survived | |
| Purser (Commissaris) | Bocace Georges | Survived | |
| Purser (Commissaris) | Marteau Alfred The source prints Martens Alfred. | Survived | |
| Purser (Commissaris) | Meeus Theo | Survived | |
| Chief Steward (Chef-steward) | De Bois Armand | Survived | |
| Chief Steward (Chef-steward) | Sottieaux René | Survived | |
| Chief Steward (Chef-steward) | Van Goey René | Survived | |
| Chief Steward (Chef-steward) | Vercruysse Lucien | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Budts Paul | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Czekhanovitch Itchok | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Daerden Ernest | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | De Waele Léon | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | De Winter Grégoire | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | D'Hondt Edouard | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Dombrecht Raymond | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Foucart Achille | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Goche Auguste | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Heyman Gommaire | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Jonckheere André | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Van Alsenov Georges | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Van Arkkels Jozef | Survived | |
| Cook (Kok) | Van Heurck Jacques | Survived | |
| Butcher (Beenhouwer) | Shalabi Hassan | Survived | |
| Butcher (Beenhouwer) | Wellens Gustaaf | Survived | |
| Baker (Bakker) | Janssens Jozef | Survived | |
| Baker (Bakker) | Kiekens Jean | Survived | |
| Baker (Bakker) | Rutten Jozef | Survived | |
| Baker (Bakker) | Van De Graveele Roger | Survived | |
| Pantryman | De Keersmaecker Jozef | Survived | |
| Pantryman | Scheerdijck Jean | Survived | |
| Saloon Steward (Salon-steward) | Hacken Raymond | Survived | |
| Steward | Brems Frans | Survived | |
| Steward | Chaput Gaston | Survived | |
| Steward | De Backer Jules | Survived | |
| Steward | De Bruyne Oscar | Survived | |
| Steward | Persy Marcel | Survived | |
| Steward | Rossel Pierre | Survived | |
| Steward | Van Cutsem Theo | Survived | |
| Steward | Van Den Broeck Robert | Survived | |
| Steward | Van Den Broeck Vital | Survived | |
| Steward | Vyncke Alfred | Survived | |
| Barman | Berchmans Jozef | Survived | |
| Barman | Deprez Auguste | Survived | |
| Barman | Haesaerts Henri | Survived | |
| Barman | Hochstenbach John | Survived | |
| Barman | Meysmans August | Survived | |
| Barman | Van Hoof Armand | Survived | |
| Barman | Vervoort Georges | Survived | |
| Storekeeper | Van Iseghem Dominique | Survived | |
| Linen Keeper (Linnenkeeper) | Lycke Amédée | Survived | |
| Barber (Kapper) | Braedt Henri | Survived | |
| Watchman | Van De Poll Severijn | Survived | |
| Laundryman | Gan Thie | China | Survived |
| Laundryman | Nag Peng | China | Survived |
| Doctor (Geneesheer) | Herrent Nestor | Survived | |
| Nurse (Verpleegster) | Van Der Haegen Louise | Survived | |
| Nurse (Verpleegster) | Rogiers Maria | Survived |
The convoy WEP-3
- Dates
- 24 December 1944
- Merchant ships
- 29
- Sunk
- 1 · 11,509 tons
The dotted line follows the great circle the WEP series ran, Isle of Wight to Cherbourg, 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.
The only convoy on route WEP to be hit by a U-boat in the whole war. The one ship lost was the Leopoldville.
Convoys (19)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DS.9 | 10 August 1941 | Clyde – Iceland | |
| SD.9 | 13 August 1941 | Iceland – Clyde | |
| DS.10 | 17 August 1941 | Clyde – Iceland | |
| SD.10 | 19 August 1941 | Iceland – Clyde | |
| DS.11 | 6 September 1941 | Clyde – Iceland | |
| SD.11 | 9 September 1941 | Iceland – Clyde | |
| KMF.3 | 14 November 1942 | Clyde – Algiers | |
| MKF.3 | 23 November 1942 | Algiers – Clyde | |
| KMF.7 | 8 January 1943 | Clyde – Algiers | |
| MKF.7 | 18 January 1943 | Algiers – Dispersed | |
| ST.56 | 20 February 1943 | Freetown – Takoradi | |
| MKF.22 | 19 August 1943 | Port Said – Clyde | |
| KMF.25 | 16 October 1943 | Liverpool – Alexandria | |
| MKF.25A | 31 October 1943 | Port Said – Clyde | |
| KMF.27 | 16 December 1943 | Clyde – Port Said | |
| MKF.28 | 20 January 1944 | Port Said – Liverpool | |
| KMF.29 | 21 February 1944 | Clyde – Alexandria | |
| MKF.30 | 8 April 1944 | Port Said – Liverpool | |
| WN.585 | 21 May 1944 | Loch Ewe – Methil |
Sources
Crew list from the printed source.