M/S Crux

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Captein Einar Hansen appeared ... On sailing the said ship was in every respect in a wholly seaworthy condition. He was unable to produce the logbook of the ship as it was lost when the said ship was sunk. He presented a report ... He also produced a list of the crew ...The Master referred to the contents of the report and declared that everything went well until about 11.45 p.m. on the 25th day of June last when the ship having left the convoy at about 8 a.m. the same date was in latitude approx: 36g52m North and longitude 14g West she was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side just abaft the the engine room. That he was on the bridge at the time and when the ship was so struck a terrific explosion occured. It shattered the stb. lifeboat and caused such a hole in the ship that she began to sink at once. That the lifeboat and motorboat on the port side were immediately manned and got clear just before the ship sank.

That owing to the way the ship had on her at the time of the attack the boats when they were set free were left rapidly astern so that he and other members of the crew had to jump into the sea and were later picked up by the boats.

That he was the last to be rescued from the sea. That before the attack no submarine was seen nor did they sight the track of a torpedo but that a few minutes later the submarine came to the surface about 250 yards away and approached the boats. The commander of the submarine spoke to him in English with a German accent and asked for particulars of the ship and her cargo. That such particulars were given to him. That having been informed that they had some provisions int their boat the Commander of the submarine went away saying he was sorry and would try to send help. That they remained in a calm sea in the same position until daylight when they found two rafts belonging to the ship and took from them the store of provisions and fresh water. That at about 5 a.am. they sighted a steamship which they afterwards found was the British s.s. "BRUTUS". That they were taken onboard that ship and in her brought to Plymouth where they landed on the 1st July instant. That he is pleased to state that the whole of the crew were saved and that except for minor scratches and bruises no injuries were sustained.

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... First Witness, the third officer Birger Bjørkhaug who deposed that on the night of the 25th June last at about 16 minutes midnight he was standing on the main deck of the motorship "CRUX" in a position near no. 4 hatch on the stb. side when a big explosion occurred which threw him from the stb. to the port side. At the same time the ship began to list to port and to sink. That at the time the explosion occurred he did not see any submarine nor did he see any torpedo. That he went to the boat deck to the motorboat and helped to lower it and then went to his cabin to get his lifebelt but could not find it owing to the upset caused by the explosion. That when he got back on deck the boats had left and he ran aft. and jumped into the sea and was picked up by the motorboat. That after he had been picked up he saw the Captain jump into the sea, he was the last to leave the ship and was later picked up by the same boat. That about 15 minutes later a submarine appeared and the Commander spoke to the Captain of the"CRUX" in English but with a German accent and asked for some particulars. That they asked the Commander if he would tow them nearer to land, they were about 300 miles from the nearest coast. The Commander replied, "I am sorry" and went away saying "I will send out a call for help". That about 5 or 6 hours later they were picked up by a British ship the s.s. "Brutus" and brought to Plymouth where they arrived on the 1st day ofg July.

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The Second Witness Oliver Seim, the Chief Engineer of the "CRUX" appeared and deposed that he was keeping watch onboard the said ship just before midnight on the 25th June last when heard a sharp sound followed by an explosion which shook the ship. That he went to the boat deck and turned a valve there which stopped the engines. That meanwhile the ship began to sink. That he found that the stb. lifeboat was smashed so he went to the port lifeboat and got into that. Taht they got away from the ship only just in time as she sank about 3 or 4 minutes later. That some of the crew jumped into the sea and were picked up later by the boats. That after the ship had sunk a submarine appeared and acting on the Captain's orders they rowed away from it in case any attempt was made to attack the boats. That there was no time for members of the crew to save their belongings and clothing which were all lost.

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The Third Witness Johannes Storheim appeared and deposed that on the 25th day of June last at about 11.45 p.m. he was on the bridge of the m.s. "CRUX" at the wheel the course was in a South Westerly direction. That suddenly a big explosion occurred and the ship began to list to the port. That he left the wheel and blew short blasts on the whistle and then went to the telegraph and signalled the engineroom to stop. That the Captain who was on the bridge ordered him to the lifeboats. That he went to the port lifeboat and helped to get it down to the water. Meanwhile the said ship was sinking rapidly. Just afterwards the lifeboat went away without him, the ship still had considerable way on her. That he ran aft. to the poop deck and the Captain followed him. That he managed to get into the motorboat just as it was going away. The Captain was left alone onboard. That just afterwards he jumped into the sea and was picked up by the motorboat. Soon afterwards a submarine appeared, the said vessel having meanwhile disappeared. That the submarine shone a light on the sea which was covered with wreckage and after the Commander had spoken to the Captain it went away. That some hours later they were picked up by a British steamer and brought to Plymouth.

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The Fourth Witness Just Olsen appeared and deposed that he was keeping a lookout on the bridge of the motorship "CRUX" from 10.40 p.m. to midnight when just before midnight he saw a great red light caused by a torpedo striking the starboard sie of the said ship. At once there was a great explosion and the ship began to heel over. That he put on a lifebelt and went to the boat deck and helped the other members of the crew to let down the port lifeboats. That several members of the crew got into that boat which left the ship which was still going ahead quite quickly. That later they picked up the Chief Engineer and the 2nd Engineer who had jumped into the sea. That ultimately they had 16 members of the crew in that boat. That soon afterwards a submarine appeared and shone a light on the wreckage of the ship which had sunk. That they pulled away from the submraine which went towards the ships motorboat. That after the submarine had gone away they saw a ship pass but made no signal to her. That they were ultimately picked up some hours later by the steamship "Brutus" and brought to Plymouth.

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