SS Snefjeld The SS " Snefjeld " was a steam merchant ship that saw service through two world wars , at first under the Dutch flag , followed by the Norwegian . Construction and early years . " Snefjeld " was completed in May 1901 at the yards of NV Scheepswerf Voorheen Jan Smit Czn , Alblasserdam . She initially entered service with NV Stoomvaart Mij Maasstad ( Driebeek & Sons ) , Rotterdam in 1901 as the " Maasstad " . She served with them for eight years , being transferred to Stoomvaart Mij Nederlandsche Lloyd , Rotterdam in 1909 , when she was renamed " Ottoland " . She was sold in 1915 to the Norwegian firm of Harald Grieg Martens , Bergen and was renamed " Snefjeld " . Wartime career . She sailed in a number of allied convoys after the outbreak of the Second World War , her first being as part of the UK to Norway convoy ON - 14 in February 1940 . She returned in March with a cargo of pulp . She also made several transatlantic crossings , including with the Halifax to UK convoy HX - 61 , where she transported a cargo of pit prop s . She appears to have returned to North America in September with convoy OB - 207 . Convoy SC - 7 . " Snefjeld " joined convoy SC - 7 for the return voyage to the UK . She arrived at the convoy assembly point at Sydney , Nova Scotia from Caraquet , New Brunswick carrying a cargo of 719 standards of timber and bound for London . The convoy left Sydney on 5 October but later came under attack from a number of U - boat s successfully utilising wolf pack tactics . One of the ships lost was the SS " Thalia " , a Greek merchant which was torpedoed and sunk on 19 October by Otto Kretschmer ' s . The " Snefjeld " stopped at 01 : 15 and lowered three boats to look for survivors from the " Thalia " . They located four and two boats returned to the " Snefjeld " and were prepared to be pulled back aboard . At 02 : 00 " U - 99 " fired a torpedo at the stationary " Snefjeld " , hitting her on her starboard side near Hatch No . 2 . In the lifeboats . The second mate , the steward and the mess boy were injured in the explosion , whilst the first mate , who had been in one of the boats was blown into the water . He managed to reboard the " Snefjeld " but the ship was now ablaze . The " Snefjeld " listed to starboard sending the deck cargo on the foredeck overboard . The two lifeboats that had been lowered to search for the survivors were destroyed , but the motorboat which had also been launched was able to pick up several of the crew . The rest left the ship in a dinghy . The " Snefjeld " floated for another hour before breaking in two . She sank at about 08 : 00 . There had been no casualties , and the survivors initially waited in the area in the hope of being spotted . When this did not happen they began to row towards land , but encountered heavy seas . The two boats were separated during the night , but were subsequently able to rejoin the next day . Later that day they came across one of the " Thalia ’ s " empty lifeboats , and took on its supplies . They then came across another empty life boat from the and transferred some men into it . They then spotted a man on some nearby wreckage . On taking him aboard they found he was a survivor from the , which had also been lost from the convoy . On 21 October they made contact with a lifeboat containing 29 survivors from the , which had been torpedoed over a week previously . The boats eventually became separated however . By now the motorboat had been leaking considerably and the men transferred into the lifeboat . They continued rowing east for another day and on 23 October they were picked up by . The " Clematis " landed them at Methil on 26 October . The second mate , the steward and the messboy were subsequently hospitalised for a period of time .