The 399-foot-long Gairsoppa was completed in 1919 and was located in 2011. During the month of February 1941, German submarines sank 30 British ships.
The ship left India December 1940 and sailed to Sierra Leone where it joined Convoy SL 64 heading for Liverpool with no military escort when it departed January 31, 1941. Many of the ships in the convoy were old and heavily laden. As such, the convoy averaged just 8 knots, becoming quite a target for U-Boats.
The Gairsoppa weighed 7000 tons and also was carrying iron and tea along with the silver. It had had to burn more fuel to maintain its position in heavy seas. Captain Gerald Hyland feared that he didn't have enough fuel to reach Liverpool and received permission to leave the convoy and make for Galway, on Ireland's southwest coast on Feb. 14, 1941.
More to Come. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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