Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 93 continued ... The SS Lady Hawkins was a passenger ship and seamen referred to her as one of the “Lady Boats” (Lady Nelson, Lady Hawkins and Lady Drake plied the waters of the North Atlantic). She was launched in 1928 and was owned by Canadian National Steamships Ltd. Halifax was her home port; so, it is no surprise that many of her crew were from Nova Scotia. The Lady Hawkins was attacked by a German U-Boat on the evening of 19 January 1942 and sank off the coast of North Carolina. The website uboat.net provides the following information on the attack: Date of attack 19 Jan 1942 Fate Sunk by U-66 (Richard Zapp) Position 35° 00'N, 72° 30'W - Grid CA 8997 Complement 322 (251 dead and 71 survivors). Route Montreal - Halifax - Boston (16 Jan) - Bermuda - Georgetown, British Guiana Cargo 2908 tons of general cargo and 213 passengers “At 0743 hours (GMT) on 19 January 1942 the unescorted Lady Hawkins (Master Huntly Osborne Giffin) was hit by two stern torpedoes from U-66 and sank after 30 minutes about 150 miles east of Cape Hatteras. The master, 86 crew members, one gunner and 163 passengers (including four DBS (distressed British seamen)) were lost. The chief officer, 20 crew members and 50 passengers were picked up after five days by the Coamo and landed at San Juan, Puerto Rico on 28 January.” SS LADY HAWKINS Submitted: Gary Silliker CD
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