Hertford (1920)

Hertford (formerly Rheinland and Friesland) was a freighter which was built in Germany in 1917 and served with both the Hamburg-Amerika Linie and Federal Steam Navigation Co Ltd before being lost after torpedoing by the German submarine U-571 off the coast of Massachusetts in 1942. She was also extensively damaged after striking a German mine off the Australian coast in 1940.

Origins
She was built by Bremer Vulkan at Bremen-Vegesack in Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany. She was launched in October 1917 under the name Rheinland and completed in June 1920 as Friesland for the Hamburg-Amerika Linie (HAPAG), Hamburg. In 1922, she transferred to Great Britain as war reparations and sold to the Federal Steam Navigation Co Ltd who renamed her as Hertford.

Incident in Australian waters during 1940
On 7 December 1940, Hertford struck a mine approximately 25 miles west-south west of the Neptune Islands off the South Australian coast in a marine field placed by the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin during October 1940. She was towed to Port Lincoln for temporary repairs, then to Port Adelaide where further repairs were carried out and then she sailed to Sydney where she was dry-docked to complete repairs. The mine field was the subject of a mine sweeping operation in 1946 using German naval records to ensure that all mines had been accounted for.

Loss
Hertford was sunk by the German submarine U-571 on 29 March 1942 about 350 miles east of Nantucket, Massachusetts with the loss of four of her 62 crew. The wreck site is reportedly to be located in the vicinity of 40.5°N, -63.31°W.