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SS Corduff, a laden 2,345 GRT collier in East Coast convoy FS 32, was damaged, though without casualties, in an attack by Stuka divebomber aircraft in the Barrow Deep on 11 November 1940.

On the night of 7/8 March 1941 she was torpedoed and sunk by German E-boat S28 while heading north with a convoy off Cromer. Seven of her crew were lost, and, after drifting for some hours and being hailed by the E-boat captain, the other 14 (including Captain Rees) were found by the Cromer lifeboat H F Bailey. It was the night of the most successful E-boat raid on East Coast merchant shipping, with six other ships sunk. Corduff belonged to William Cory & Son Ltd.

References

1. One website wrongly attributes the attack to a Heinkel. (Sources--Convoy Reports ADM 199/39, Nore Cmd War Diaries ADM 199/375 at National Archives; Peter C Smith "Divebomber"' J Foreman "The Battle of Britain--The Forgotten Months==November & December 1940).

• The National Archives (United Kingdom)
  • E-Boat Actions ADM 199/670
  • Nore Cmd WD ADM 199/407
• Lloyd's Lists
• HMSO Shipping Losses list, 1947
• J P Foynes, Battle of the East Coast 1939–1945
• V Kuhn, Schnellboote in Einsatz 1939–1945

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1941
Shipwrecks	3 Mar: Knight of Malta 4 Mar: Bernhard Schulte, Elbing, Gumbinnen 7 Mar: Corduff, U-70 9 Mar: Marathon 11 Mar: HMS Witherington 13 Mar: Empire Frost 14 Mar: Western Chief 17 Mar: U-99, U-100 18 Mar: Bremen, HMS Rosaura 20 Mar: Mackay-Bennett 21 Mar: Benwyvis 23 Mar: U-551 25 Mar: Britannia 26 Mar: HMS York, HMCS Otter 27 Mar: Faraday 28 Mar: Fiume 29 Mar: Pola, Zara 30 Mar: Umona 31 Mar: HMS Bonaventure, Pier Capponi Unknown date: U-47
Other incidents	1 Mar: Empire Simba 25 Mar: Escaut
1940 1941 1942 February 1941 April 1941

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