British Motor tanker
Name Caprella
Type: Motor tanker
Completed 1931 - R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd, Hebburn-on-Tyne
Owner Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd, London
Date of attack 20 Oct 1940 Nationality: British
Fate Sunk by U-100 (Joachim Schepke)
Position 56° 37'N, 17° 15'W - Grid AL 0381
Convoy HX-79
Route Curaçao - Mersey
Cargo 11.300 tons of fuel oil
History Completed in July 1931
At 00.15 hours on 20 Oct 1940, U-100 fired two torpedoes at two tankers in convoy HX-79 from within the columns about 150 miles southwest of Rockall and hit Caprella and Sitala, which both caught fire after being torpedoed and sank later.
The burning Caprella (Master Percy Prior) was quickly abandoned by the crew. One crew member was lost. The master and 51 crew members were picked up by HMS Lady Elsa (FY 124) (Lt J.G. Rankin, RNR) and landed at Belfast.
On 22 October, the drifting wreck of the Caprella was located in 56°28N/17°53W vertically submerged, showing only the bow 15 metres above water.