Emergencies and World Disasters
The Fishing Trawler That Vanished: 37 Men, One Island Grave
25 min•24 juli 2026
Om avsnittet
The Fishing Trawler That Vanished: 37 Men, One Island Grave
A small patch of British soil on a North Carolina barrier island marks the final resting place of four sailors while thirty-one of their shipmates lie nowhere at all - a fishing trawler converted for war, a torpedo strike at 05:40, and one man saved only because he spent the night in a police cell. Why did a vessel built for the North Sea become an Atlantic grave, and how did enemy logs become the only full account of that dawn?
In this episode, we tell who the men were, how the HMT Bedfordshire came to patrol the Outer Banks, and the sequence of events on 11 May 1942 that left most of her crew missing - using the captured U-boat log as the crucial piece of evidence that answers what happened that morning.
Person: Lieutenant Russell Bransby Davis
Event: Sinking by U-558 torpedo attack at 05:40 on 11 May 1942
Ship: HMT Bedfordshire (FY141), hull number GY196, 162 ft long, 26 ft beam
Location: Patrol sectors Two and Three, Outer Banks off Morehead City, North Carolina
Origin: Launched 17 July 1935, Smith's Dock Company, South Bank, North Yorkshire
- The Bedfordshire carried a BL 4-inch Mark VII naval gun after conversion in December 1940.
- The crew numbered thirty-eight men under Lieutenant Davis when requisitioned by the Admiralty.
- Operation Drumbeat saw thirty-five Allied ships sunk in January 1942 along the U.S. coast.
- U-558 fired two torpedoes at Bedfordshire at 05:40 on 11 May 1942; the first torpedo missed.
- Four headstones sit inside a white-painted fence on the island, tended yearly on 11 May.
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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
A small patch of British soil on a North Carolina barrier island marks the final resting place of four sailors while thirty-one of their shipmates lie nowhere at all - a fishing trawler converted for war, a torpedo strike at 05:40, and one man saved only because he spent the night in a police cell. Why did a vessel built for the North Sea become an Atlantic grave, and how did enemy logs become the only full account of that dawn?
In this episode, we tell who the men were, how the HMT Bedfordshire came to patrol the Outer Banks, and the sequence of events on 11 May 1942 that left most of her crew missing - using the captured U-boat log as the crucial piece of evidence that answers what happened that morning.
Person: Lieutenant Russell Bransby Davis
Event: Sinking by U-558 torpedo attack at 05:40 on 11 May 1942
Ship: HMT Bedfordshire (FY141), hull number GY196, 162 ft long, 26 ft beam
Location: Patrol sectors Two and Three, Outer Banks off Morehead City, North Carolina
Origin: Launched 17 July 1935, Smith's Dock Company, South Bank, North Yorkshire
- The Bedfordshire carried a BL 4-inch Mark VII naval gun after conversion in December 1940.
- The crew numbered thirty-eight men under Lieutenant Davis when requisitioned by the Admiralty.
- Operation Drumbeat saw thirty-five Allied ships sunk in January 1942 along the U.S. coast.
- U-558 fired two torpedoes at Bedfordshire at 05:40 on 11 May 1942; the first torpedo missed.
- Four headstones sit inside a white-painted fence on the island, tended yearly on 11 May.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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