Attack By The Admiral Scheer
On 5 November the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer found the convoy at 50°30′N 32°00′W / 50.5°N 32°W / 50.5; -32 and attacked immediately. Captain E.S.F. Fegen of HMS Jervis Bay steamed out towards the raider so as to delay the Admiral Scheer to allow the convoy to scatter and escape. Jervis Bay was completely outclassed, but she fought for 22 minutes before she was sunk with the loss of 190 of her crew. Their sacrifice enabled most of the merchantmen from Convoy HX-84 to escape and Fegen received a posthumous Victoria Cross.
Admiral Scheer now tried to sink as many of the convoy as possible before darkness fell. She hit San Demetrio with several shells that destroyed the bridge and poop deck and left the upper deck in flames. Despite both the exploding shells and the resultant fire, the ship's highly flammable cargo did not explode. Nevertheless her Master, Captain Waite, believed that the fire could set off the aviation fuel at any moment so he gave the order to abandon ship. With the ship remaining under fire from the Scheer, the crew escaped in two lifeboats. Admiral Scheer then turned her attention to other ships of the rapidly scattering convoy.
Read more about this topic: MV San Demetrio
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