Hi Derek i've recently come across this;
Immediately after putting the second torpedo into the Bristol City, Manke lined up his sights on the next ship astern, the 5,565-ton US-flag West Madaket, and fired a single torpedo, but due to a technical fault on the part of the U-boat, the American ship survived. Manke noted in his War Diary: Launch order given, but the torpedo stuck in the tube. A Mechanikersmaat [engineer’s mate] prodded it out with a mine ejector and it hit the target after a run of 118 seconds. A large explosion resulted amidships on the target and the steamer broke apart and destination was Cuba, where she was scheduled to pick up a cargo of sugar. At about 0230 on the 5th, all having been quiet since the torpedoing of the Harperley, Captain Phillips had decided to go below for a much needed break, but he had not been in his cabin for many minutes when the bridge telephone rang to report that the Bristol City had been hit. Phillips was back on the bridge of the Wentworth within seconds, and five minutes after he entered the wheelhouse, U-358 struck again. Phillips wrote in his report: At 0310 on 5th May in position 53° 59ʹN 43° 55ʹW, steaming at 6 knots on a course 220° (approx.), we were struck by a torpedo. The weather was cloudy but clear, it was just dark, and visibility was good. There was a moderate sea and swell and light variable airs. The torpedo struck on the port side, midships, in the stokehold. It was not a loud explosion, there was no flash or flame, and only a very small amount of water was thrown up. The funnel collapsed, the wireless room also collapsed, and all electricity failed. The main deck was split across midships, the port shell plates were cracked, and there was a hole in the ship’s side about 12 feet in diameter, extending about 3 feet above the waterline. When the Wentworth staggered under the blast of Rolf Manke’s torpedo, the Radio Officer on watch followed standard procedure by sending out a prearranged SOS to all ships, but this went no further than his Morse key. As in most merchant ships of the day, the Wentworth’s wireless aerial was suspended between her masts, and it had been brought down by the explosion.
Edwards, Bernard. From Hunter to Hunted: The U-Boat War in the Atlantic, 1939–1943 (p. 168). Pen & Sword Books. Kindle Edition.
