SS Corduff, a laden 2345 grt collier in East Coast convoy FS 32, was damaged, though without casualties, in an attack by Stuka divebombers in the Barrow Deep on 11 November 1940.
On the night of 7/8 March 1941 she was torpedoed and sunk by German E-Boat S28 while heading north with a convoy off Cromer. Seven of her crew were lost, and, after drifting for some hours and being hailed by the E-boat captain, the other 14 (including Captain Rees) were found by the Cromer lifeboat H F Bailey. It was the night of the most successful E-Boat raid on East Coast merchant shipping, with six other ships sunk.
Corduff belonged to William Cory & Son Ltd.
References
The National Archives (United Kingdom) E-Boat Actions ADM 199/670 Nore Cmd WD ADM 199/407 Lloyd's Lists HMSO Shipping Losses list, 1947 J P Foynes, Battle of the East Coast 1939–1945 V Kuhn, Schnellboote in Einsatz 1939–1945
