The Munster

Suitable for Experienced Ocean Divers/Open Water Divers and above

Depth 17m

Distance miles

The Munster

The Munster. Picture courtesy of Simplon Postcards

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Simplon Postcards for kindly consenting to our using the image of the Munster. Other information was obtained from The World's Merchant Fleets 1939 (R Jordan), British Vessels lost at Sea 1939-45 (HMSO), Shipwreck Index of the British Isles Volume 5 (R Larn) and U-Boats Destroyed (P Kemp).

The Ship

The Munster was a motor vessel built by Harland and Wolf Ltd of Belfast for Coast Lines Ltd. Measuring 107.59x15.29x4.41 metres, she grossed 4305 tons and carried a general cargo.

The .

History

On the 7th February 1940 she struck a mine (laid by U30 on the 9th January 1940) and sank in position 53 36 N 03 24 W. She lies in 17m.

The U30, under the command of Kapitanleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp, sank the SS Athenia (British 13,581 tons) south of Rockall on 3rd September 1939 with a loss of 118 dead including children and 28 Americans. She was the first ship sunk in the war, contrary to Hitler’s orders not to attack passenger ships. Lemp died after a depth charge attack on U110, on the 9th May 1941, after attacking convoy OB318 and sinking the Esmond and Bengore Head. The submarine was forced to the surface and an armed boarding party managed to retrieve an ‘Enigma’ code machine.

The Dive

TBD