World War IIDS Hydra II
DS Hydra II var på reise fra Koh-Sichang til Hong Kong med 2000 tonn ris og salt ved det japanske angrepet i Stillehavet. De seks norske offiserene besluttet å føre skipet til Filippinene. Skipet ankom Manila 12. desember 1941 og lå 2 n. mil av land med alle lys slukket. Situasjonen i Manila var spent. Samme kveld observerte vakthavende styrmann stripen av en torpedo som kom fra landsiden. Torpedoen traff forenom midtskipet. Styrehus og bestikk ble blåst bort, og livbåtene ble skadet. Hydra II sank under benene på de overlevende i løpet av to minutter. I ettertid har man ikke funnet annen forklaring enn at torpedoen kom fra den amerikanske ubåten S-38 på vakt ved havneinnløpet. Tre nordmenn og 38 kinesere omkom. Bare tre offiserer og seks kinesere reddet livet på vrakgods som fløt opp.
SS Hydra II was on a journey from Koh-Sichang to Hongkong with 2000 tons of rice and salt when the war against Japan started. The six Norwegian officers decided to take the ship towards the Philippines. The ship arrived in Manilla 12. December 1941 and anchored two nautical miles from land with the ship blacked out. The situation in Manilla was very tense at this point in time. On the same night one of the guards on duty observed a torpedo coming towards the ship. The torpedo had been fired from land and the ship was struck amidships. The bridge was destroyed by the explosion and the lifeboats was severely damaged. Hydra II sank in just two minutes. After the war the it was discovered that the torpedo was fired from the American submarine S-38 on guard by the harbour entrance. Three Norwegians and 38 Chinese perished in the sinking, but three officers and six Chinese was saved by holding onto debris from the ship.
About DS Hydra II
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Nationality
11659
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Built
1919
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Wrecked
12.12.1941
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Carrier
Bruusgaard, Kiøsterud & Co.,Drammen
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Tonnage
2000 dvt
