Today in history: Torpedoes sink the SS Mendoza off the coast of Durban
Towards the end of October 1942, the SS Mendoza sailed without an armoured escort from Mombasa to Durban under Captain BT Batho.
On 1 November 1942, a German submarine sank the SS Mendoza, a ship sailing across the Indian Ocean, bound for Durban, by deploying torpedoes.
After the construction of the SS Mendoza in 1920, the ship was registered to a French shipping company known as the Société Générale de Transport Maritimes.
Towards the end of October 1942, the SS Mendoza sailed without an armoured escort from Mombasa to Durban under Captain BT Batho.
The German submarine sank a number of ships in 1942, including the SS Duchess of Atholl; the British cargo ship, the Trekieve; the Hai Hing, a Norwegian cargo ship, and the liberty ship (also a cargo vessel), SS Jeremiah Wadsworth, off the coast of Cape Agulhas.
The submarine U-178 was on patrol when it sank the SS Mendoza about 129 kilometres out of Durban, by deploying torpedoes at the SS Mendoza, damaging its two propellers and blowing off its rudder.
After the ship was struck, ten lifeboats were launched and several people managed to escape and head for dry land.
The survivors were picked up by an American ship, the SS Alava. A total of 150 people died, among them the captain, members of the crew and service personnel.
Information sourced from: South African History Online.
