Trimmer Kenneth W. Wilson

On 22 January 1942, in heavy weather and with the ship rolling violently, at around 5:20 pm, the ship suffered a violent jolt followed by a huge 0explosion on the port side, as she was hit by a torpedo fired by the German submarine U-135. The Gandia immediately began to list and sink by the stern 420 miles (675 km) east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, position 45°00'N/41°00'W. Captain Potie gave the order to abandon ship and the crew began lowering the lifeboats. Bad weather considerably hampered this action and the lifeboats were violently knocked against the ship's sides. Lifeboats number 1 and 3, located on the side of the ship exposed to the weather, broke up and threw their occupants and provisions into the sea. The Gandia sank within ten minutes, going down vertically by the stern. After 14 days at sea, seven survivors of the 18 sailors on board lifeboat 2 were rescued on 5 February by the American destroyer USS Bernadou (DD-153) and landed in Reykjavik, Iceland. After 26 days adrift, 28 sailors from lifeboat 4 were rescued by the Portuguese trawler Joao Corte Real, position 46°30'N/46°56'W, and brought to Oporto, Portugal, on 26 February, the others having died. The attack killed 42 crew members and 23 others perished at sea while awaiting rescue. The date of Davis' death is therefore approximate.