Hello!

The Captain of Wiiri was Edvin Wene.

Wiiri sailed from Tyne June 6th 1940 to Pireus. The ship arrived June 14th in Gibraltar. Permit to sail further was given by both British and Italian officials and the ship sailed July 7th from Gibraltar. The ship was attacked by 16 Italian low-level bombers on July 17th at 11.30. The ship was not hit but near misses caused leaks. The ship was abandoned but reboarded soon again. The leaks were not too serious and the voyage continued with the usual speed of 8 knots. New attacks followed and the ship was abandoned again. The attacks continued whole day and the crew in boats estimated eight attacks and over 100 bombs. The attacks ceased by night and the ship was again reboarded at 22.00. The ship could not be saved and was abandoned for the third time. The ship sunk rapidly bow first.

The two boats arrived to Malta next evening and the crew was transported to Gibraltar in destroyers. October 18th the crew was transported by passenger ship Reina del Pacifico to Liverpool. November 11th the crew was transported by Finnish ships Wiima and Kuurtanes to Petsamo.

Source: "Vaarallisilla vesillä" by Helge Heikkinen, publ. WSOY, Helsinki 1960.

Best regards
Jari Aromaa