Ships › MERCIER
S/S MERCIER
Lost during the Second World War
More photographs (2)
The steamer Mercier. Photographer unknown · Public domain · Commons
Mercier. Louis Claes · Public domain · Commons
- Type
- Steam merchant
- Tonnage
- 7,886 GRT
- Built
- 1919 – Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack
- Owner
- Compagnie Maritime Belge (Lloyd Royal) SA, Antwerp
- Home port
- Antwerp
- Date
- 9 June 1941
- Fate
- Sunk by U-204 (Walter Kell)
- Attacker
- U-204 (Walter Kell)
- Convoy
- OB-330 (dispersed)
- Voyage
- Liverpool → Montreal
- Cargo
- Ballast, 1,000 bags of mail and training aircraft as deck cargo
- Position
- 48.5000, -41.5000 · grid BC 6129
Position of the attack. Click the map to enable zoom.
Crew list (62 names)
The voyage
- Departure
- Liverpool · 2 June 1941
- Destination
- Montreal · never reached
- Sunk
- 9 June 1941
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master (Kapitein) | †Lambé Maurice | Lost | |
| 1st Officer (1ste officier) | Hubin Henri | Survived | |
| 2nd Officer (2de officier) | Van Geert Fernand | Survived | |
| 3rd Officer (3de officier) | Caron Emile | Wounded | |
| 4th Officer (4de officier) | Fiori Ferdinand | Yugoslavia | Wounded |
| Radio Officer (Marconist) | Wouters Léopold | Survived | |
| Cadet (Kadet) | De Naeyer René | Wounded | |
| Carpenter (Timmerman) | Anelin Erich | Estonia | Wounded |
| Boatswain (Bootsman) | Franssen Jozef | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Brignell Edward | United Kingdom | Wounded |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Da Silva Fernando | Portugal | Survived |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | De Kuyffer Jan | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Hagens Henri | Wounded | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Jung Vladimir | Estonia | Survived |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Magis Marcel | Wounded | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Pooters Pierre | Survived | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Stockmans Ignace | Wounded | |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Vahtras Michael | Estonia | Survived |
| Able Seaman (A.B.) | Vingerhoed Pierre | Survived | |
| Ordinary Seaman (Lichtmatroos) | Ledwick John | United Kingdom | Survived |
| 1st Engineer Officer (1ste mecanicien) | De Combe Gérard | Survived | |
| 2nd Engineer Officer (2de mecanicien) | Coppe Frans | Wounded | |
| 3rd Engineer Officer (3de mecanicien) | Birlouet Oscar | Wounded | |
| 4th Engineer Officer (4de mecanicien) | Van Eygen Jozef | Survived | |
| Assistant Engineer (Assistant-mecanicien) | †Lienne Joseph | Lost | |
| Assistant Engineer (Assistant-mecanicien) | Louyet Clement | Survived | |
| Assistant Engineer (Ass.-mecanicien) | Nicolay Henri | Wounded | |
| Assistant Engineer (Ass.-mecanicien) | Van Egeren Jozef | Wounded | |
| Donkeyman | Colleman Gustaaf | Survived | |
| Donkeyman | D'Hondt Karel | Survived | |
| Donkeyman | Sanders Corneille | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | †Bassens Theofiel | Lost | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Gochoul Leopold | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Mulders Alfons | Wounded | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Noens Daniel | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Oerlemans Mathieu | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Rombout Pierre | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Scheers Julien | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Stanley Gabriel | Canada | Survived |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Steele Leon | Canada | Survived |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Tratsaert Pierre | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | Van Den Bosch Pieter | Survived | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | †Van Hofstraeten Alfons | Lost | |
| Fireman (Stoker) | †Van Laer Theophile | Lost | |
| Trimmer (Tremmer) | Bosmans Gerard | Survived | |
| Trimmer (Tremmer) | Boudou John | Survived | |
| Trimmer (Tremmer) | Stroobandts Pieter | Survived | |
| Trimmer (Tremmer) | Van Carpels Frans | Wounded | |
| Steward | Veraert August | Survived | |
| 1st Cook (1ste kok) | Van Roy Jan | Survived | |
| 2nd Cook (2de kok) | †Badjou Georges | Lost | |
| Assistant Cook (Hulpkok) | Ramos Antonio | Portugal | Survived |
| Messroom Steward (Messr.-steward) | De Buck Alfons | Wounded | |
| Messroom Steward (Messroom-steward) | †Sneyers Karel | Lost | |
| Assistant Steward (Assistant-steward) | Carra Pichano | Portugal | Survived |
| Cabin Boy (Kajuitjongen) | Lienne Kurt | Survived | |
| Deck Boy (Dekjongen) | Elliot George | United Kingdom | Survived |
| Gunner | De Roeck Emiel | Survived | |
| Gunner | Janssens Louis | Survived | |
| Gunner | Michiels Louis | Survived | |
| Gunner | Smith Jan | Survived | |
| Gunner | Van Hoogten Joseph | Survived |
The convoy OB-330
- Dates
- 8–13 June 1941
- Sunk
- 3 · 18,252 tons
- Damaged
- 1 · 6,207 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 (6)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HX.62 | 31 July 1940 | Halifax – Liverpool | 2 sunk |
| OB.231 | 19 October 1940 | Liverpool - Dispersed | |
| HX.100 | 1 January 1941 | Halifax – Liverpool | |
| OB.293 | 2 March 1941 | Liverpool - Dispersed | 3 sunk |
| HX.119B | 6 April 1941 | Halifax – Liverpool | |
| OB.330 | 2 June 1941 | Liverpool - Dispersed | 1 sunk |
The source’s search page broke off halfway for this ship; this list may be incomplete.
Sources
Crew list from the printed source.