WW1
The First World War claimed both the Imataka and Amakura. The Imataka was torpedoed and sunk by UC47 in a position 15 miles SSW from Daunt's Rock on April 23, 1917. There are no casualties for the Imataka listed on the Tower Hill memorial site, so it is assumed that all of the crew survived the sinking. The UC47 was sunk off the Bridlington coast, North Yorkshire on the 18th November 1917 by HMS P57 who rammed and depth charged her. 28 crewmen of the UC47 perished in the attack. The UC47 is now a registered war grave and she lies, still surrounded by live munitions, in a position 54° 1 ' 0 '' North - 0° 20' 0'' (GPS).

On June 12th 1917, the Amakura fell victim to an unknown submarine 180 miles NW from Tory Island. I have been unable to find much information about the incident, but two of her crewman were killed and are listed on the Tower Hill Memorial site. The Arakaka, built in1896 survived WW1 and was sold to Hellenic Coast Lines in 1925 and renamed Attiki. She continued to operate  until she was sunk in WW2 by aircraft bombs off Karystos, Doro Channel on 11th April 1941, a remarkable 45  years of service.

WW2
History repeated itself during the Second World War. At 2236 hours on June 22 1941, the Arakaka, which had been on charter to the Admiralty since 1940 as a weather ship, under the command of Captain William Walker, was torpedoed and sunk by U-77 commanded by Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Schonder, in position 47N 40W (East of St Johns). The U-boat misidentified the Arakaka as the Greek steamship Alexandra. The Master, 32 crew and 12 admiralty personnel  all perished. The crew of the Arakaka are commemorated on Panel 9 at the Tower Hill Memorial, and includes three brothers from Liverpool, John Roberts (24), Leslie Roberts (21), and Stanley (26).

Official admiralty records relating to the sinking of the Arakaka which have since been de-classified show that she was operating with another weather ship, the SS Toronto City (Owned by the Bristol City Line. The ex- Kyrenia, 1937 purchased from Moss, Hutchison Line, Liverpool renamed Toronto City, 1st Jul.1941 torpedoed and sunk by U.108 in Atlantic with all hands). The last message received from the Arakaka was on the 22nd June when she was about 500 miles East of St Johns (LAT 47° 24'N LONG 42°W) and was returning to harbour. The Toronto City was last heard on 1st July when the routine weather report was made at 1300GMT. The Toronto City was, at the time, about 1000 miles East of St Johns (LAT 46°N 48'N LONG 30°W).

These records make fascinating reading and include the last communications with the vessel, concerns by the admiralty that the Arakaka may have been captured by a surface raider. A report from Squadron Leader Portass expressing his concern about the unsuitability of the Arakaka as a meteorological vessel. Crew lists, balance of wages etc. To view these records please click HERE.

Heinrich Schonder left the U-77 in September 1942 and three months later commissioned the type IX-D2 U-boat (U-200) which was sunk on her first patrol with the loss of all hands on 24 June, 1943 Southwest of Iceland by an RAF Liberator aircraft. The Amakura was carrying 2260 tons of general cargo bound for the UK under the command of Captain Thomas Orford with a complement of 44 when she became a straggler from convoy WAT-15. She was sunk by U-558 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günther Krech off the Jamaican coast in position 17.46 North 75.52W at 10:34 hours on 25 August, 1942. The master, 25 crew members and 5 gunners landed at the Point Morant Lighthouse, Jamaica, but 13 of her crew perished and are remembered on Panel 6 at the Tower Hill Memorial.

The U-558 was sunk by US aircraft on 20 July, 1943 in the Bay of Biscay. Only the commander, the LI and three men of the gun crew survived the sinking. Günther Krech then spent the remainder of the war years as a POW.

One of the survivors of the Amakura was J A Carter the Chief Officer who later went on to command both the replacements for Amakura and Arakaka. To read his remarkable story download this adobe file:

Captain J A Carter

Following the publication of this website I received an email from a Mrs Lesli Gallivan whose Mothers fiancé Corporal Richard (Dick) Wrighton RAFVR perished on the SS ARAKAKA during WW2. To read her story, and the sacrifice made by Dick, please CLICK HERE

The Cost of the battle of the Atlantic - Some statistics

1. It is probable that at least one quarter of the men who were in the British Merchant Navy at the outbreak  of war did not survive.
2. By May 1945 at least 30,000 merchant seamen had died. Hundreds of men from Allied navies and air forces, as well as many civilian passengers, also died.
3. In the North Atlantic alone, over 2,200 British and Allied merchant ships were sunk. Of these, no less than 2,003 had been sunk by U-boats. 100 Allied naval vessels and over 600 RAF Coastal Command aircraft were also lost in the Atlantic.
4. Of the 830 operational U-boats, at least 750 saw service in the Atlantic or British coastal waters. Of these, 510, or two out of three were lost.
5. Over 18,000 U-boat men died in action. Hundreds more German sailors died while serving on surface warships.
6. Liverpool ship-owners lost over 3 million tons of shipping. This was more than the entire merchant navies of Norway (2 million tons), the Netherlands (1.5 million tons) and Greece (1.1 million tons).