Archaeological remains associated with the loss of this vessel are not confirmed as present at this location, but may be in the vicinity.
The UKHO hold a position of loss for the SOUTH POINT in association with UKHO ID 11682
Event and Historical Information:
The SOUTH POINT was built by Irvines S.B. & DD Co Ltd at West Hartlepool in 1912 (Yard No. 511, Official No. 132814). Technical and configuration specifications are given as 3837gt, 2429nt; 350ft length x 50ft breadth x 24ft 6in depth; 2 decks; screw propulsion powered by 3 steam boilers linked to triple expansion engine producing 339hp; machinery by Richardsons & Westgarth, Hartlepool; official number 132804. At time of loss, the ship was owned by Norfolk & North American Steam Shipping Co Ltd, Furness House, Billiter St, City London. Robert E Burnett was the named managing owner.
On 27 March 1915, the SOUTH POINT was on passage from Cardiff to Philadelphia carrying a cargo of china clay in bulk and in casks, when it was captured by U-28. Contemporary newspapers contain the master's (S. W. Wilson) account - 'At two o'clock in the afternoon the periscope of submarine was sighted at a distance of three miles, and the captain called all hands on deck to explain the situation and endeavor, if possible, put on extra speed to escape the pursuer. However, the SOUTH POINT was only capable of doing fourteen knots, whereas the submarine was doing sixteen, and hence it was seen that all hopes of escape were useless. At 2.30 the German submarine U-28 overtook the steamer, and the commander demanded to see the ship's papers, after which the crew were given fifteen minutes to leave. This done, the U-28 fired a torpedo at the SOUTH POINT. The old SOUTH did not want to under and it was not before the submarine had fired nine shots at her that she began to sink, and it was only after two hours that she made her final dip under the waves'.
The SOUTH POINT's crew were out in the open sea in their small boats for ten and a half hours before being picked up by the London steamer Wellington bound for Buenos Aires. The shipwrecked men were subsequently met there by the British Consul. The loss location was given as 60 miles west of Lundy. Nothing was found at his location during an area search by HMS FOX in January 1989. U-28 was built at Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig (Werk 18) and on commissioned 26 June 1914. At the time that the SOUTH POINT was attacked, it was under the command of Kptlt Freiherr Georg-Gunther von Forstner. Over the two days 27-28 March 1915, the U-boat sank the AGUILA (NPRN 274802), SOUTH POINT, VOSGES and the FALABA in the Western approaches. During the whole of the Great War, the U-boat sank a total of 40 ships or 90,126tons of shipping. U-28 was itself lost when the cargo of a vessel it was attacking exploded in the Barent Sea on 2 September 1917.
Sources include:
HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, p.5
Liverpool Daily Post 21 April 1915, p.5
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1915, p.9 (i)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1914 - 30 June 1915, number 1678 in S
U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea
UKHO ID 11682: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
Western Mail, 10 April 1915, p.5
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, January 2024.
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