At 06:15 on Saturday 14 October, north of the Orkney Islands, S/S Wanja encountered a British destroyer and was ordered to stop her engines. According to a crew member´s account they were told a submarine hunt was ongoing in the area. On board Wanja they did not know what had happened in Scapa Flow a few hours ago or that U-47 had escaped after the daring attack.
By midday they spotted Foula’s northernmost point. The plan was to make the approach to Kirkwall during daylight. These were challenging waters with which they were neither familiar nor had the right charts for. The Royal Navy prize crew tasked with bringing the ship to Kirkwall for contraband control under armed guard and had assumed control of the navigation had no local knowledge or charts. Instead of a reasonably safe daytime passage, Wanja lay drifting all day. She was only allowed to resume her course towards Kirkwall after dark, something they had aimed to avoid.
At 18:00, they started the engines and continued towards Kirkwall at half speed, with no accurate course to guide them. The lighthouses were dark because of the war.
It was a moonless night, waters were dead calm, and the Aurora Borealis danced across the skies. At 2325 S/S Wanja ran aground on Whitemill Point, Sanday.
Photo: IWM (FL 24904)
X marks the spot 