Amasis och Antares

HMS Sunfish, a 60 m long British submarine, spotted a cargo ship in its periscope on the afternoon of 9 April while waiting near Tovas Ungar, west of Lysekil. The original order to the British submarines was that they were not to attack civilian ship traffic but only German Navy vessels.

Commander J. E. Slaughter studied the German ship in the periscope while a telegram in cipher from the commander of the submarine force went out to all British submarines. The telegram stated that the submarines were now authorised to attack all German ships, both civilian and military.

Slaughter immediately fired the torpedoes. The first one missed while the second hit amidships. Amasis took her time to sink, and it wasn’t until late at night that she disappeared from the water’s surface. The crew was rescued by approaching pilot boats.

The next day, Slaughter again made contact with a German cargo ship. When the steamer was in sight, two torpedoes were fired. One hit so perfectly that Antares cracked and immediately caught fire. Again, the pilots were the ones to hurry out and managed to save 34 people.

Amasis is today located at a depth of roughly 45 metres, while Antares is slightly deeper. Several hundred Austrian soldiers were reportedly on board, particularly on the Antares, but this information has not been confirmed.