The SS British Consul was a tanker

Tanker (ship)

A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...

 built by Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd., Sunderland in 1922 and operated by the British Tanker Company

British Tanker Company

British Tanker Company Limited was the maritime transport arm of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, the forerunner of BP. The British Tanker Company was formed in 1915 with an initial fleet of seven oil tankers...

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First Sinking

On the night of 18/19 February 1942 she was anchored in Port of Spain

Port of Spain

Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...

, Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

. She had been due to sail at midnight but submarines had been reported outside the port. The Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 granted her Master, Captain G.A. Dickson, permission to defer sailing until 0400 hrs. as his crew would have a better chance of spotting submarines in daylight. Kapitänleutnant

Captain Lieutenant

Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of different navies worldwide.It is generally equivalent to the Commonwealth or US rank of lieutenant, and has the NATO rank code of OF-2, though this can vary....

 Albrecht Achilles

Albrecht Achilles (Korvettenkapitän)

Albrecht Achilles was a German U-boat commander in World War II and commander of . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...

 of U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 U-161 reported that he fired two stern-launched torpedoes into Port of Spain anchorage at 0532 hrs. and that one of these struck the British Consul. Captain Dickson reports that the torpedo struck her "between the pumproom and the poop

Stern

The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...

, starting a fire". All hands got away in the lifeboats and stood by under the bow

Bow (ship)

The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...

. She sank in shallow water so the crew reboarded her. The British Consul was salvaged and Captain Dickson transferred to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 where he was given command of the MV British Prudence

MV British Prudence

The MV British Prudence was a tanker built by Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd., Sunderland in 1939 and operated by the British Tanker Company.-Sinking:...

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Second Sinking

In August 1942 the British Consul, now commanded by Captain James Kennedy, joined convoy TAW(S) from Trinidad via Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 to Key West

Key West

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....

. Kapitänleutnant Reinhard Suhren

Reinhard Suhren

Commander Reinhard "Teddy" Suhren was a German U-boat commander in World War II and younger brother of Korvettenkapitän and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipient Gerd Suhren. Suhren began his U-boat career in March 1938...

 of U-boat U-564 reported that on the morning of 19 August 1942 he attacked the convoy and hit three ships including the British Consul. Captain Kennedy and one crew member were lost. The survivors were rescued by the Flower class corvette

Flower class corvette

The Flower-class corvette was a class of 267 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic...

 HMS Clarkia and landed at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. This time the British Consul could not be recovered.

Replacement ship

A replacement ship of the same name was built in 1950 by Harland & Wolff Ltd, Glasgow

Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

. The new British Consul was launched on 2 March 1950, and at 8,655 gross tonnage, she was larger than the original 1924 tanker.