City of Pretoria ~ 4 March 1943

The SS City of Pretoria was a British cargo steamer built in 1937. She was en route from New York for Holyhead & Liverpool and traveling unescorted with 152 people on board.

At 0609 hours on March 4, 1942, U-172 torpedoed City of Pretoria, causing her to explode and sink off Cape Race. All aboard ... including her master, 108 crew, 24 DEMS gunners, five apprentices and seven passengers were lost. The passengers were "Distressed British Seamen" (DBS) being repatriated to the UK because their former ships had been sunk.

All were lost, including James Allistair Whyte, previously third officer of City of Cairo, who had survived 51 days in a lifeboat after she had been torpedoed and sunk by U-68 on November 6, 1942.

Click HERE for details of 144 people who were on board.