The SS Thomas Donaldson left Loch Ewe, Scotland, as part of Artic Convoy JW-65, on March 11, 1945. The convoy she was a part of had 26 ships and the SS Thomas Donaldson was the only one that didn’t make it to the Russian Port in the Kola Inlet. Late on the afternoon of the 20th, the Nazi U-boat U-968 attacked the convoy. They were just twenty miles south of their destination when the Nazis struck.
The Ship was hit by a single torpedo that took out the ships engine. It also killed three of her crew. The Captain ordered the ship abandoned due to her dangerous cargo, but a small crew including the Captain stayed aboard and tried to save the ship. She was taken under tow, and almost made it in, but sunk short of the port.
http://www.theshermantank.com/sherman/sunken-shermans-shermans-that-the-nazis-sent-to-the-bottom-of-the-sea/
see more photos at https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/allies-wwii-ship.html
and http://peopleus.blogspot.com/2014/07/surplus-auction.html
First time I've seen lend-lease Shermans being recovered-and by the Russians.
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