Editing SS Ceramic (section)

===Loss===
{{location map|North Atlantic
|coordinates={{coord|40|30|N|40|20|W}}
|caption=Approximate position of ''Ceramic''{{'}}s wreck in the North Atlantic
|relief= yes
}}
On 3 November 1942 ''Ceramic'' left Liverpool for Australia ''via'' [[Saint Helena]] and [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]]. She was carrying 377 passengers, 264 crew, 14 [[Defensively equipped merchant ship|DEMS]] gunners and 12,362 tons of cargo.<ref name=U2496/> 244 of the passengers were military or naval, including at least 145 [[British Army]], 30 [[Royal Navy]], 14 [[Royal Australian Navy]] and 12 [[Royal Marines]]. 30 of her British Army passengers were [[Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service|QAIMNS]] nursing sisters. The other 133 passengers were fare-paying civilians. 12 were children, the youngest being a one-year-old baby girl. Six were doctors, five of whom were South African.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship2496.html |title= Ceramic: British steam passenger ship |date= 1995–2021 |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |website= uboat.net |access-date = 20 January 2021}}</ref> One passenger was [[Rudolph Dolmetsch]] (1906{{ndash}}42), classical musician and composer, then serving as Regimental [[Bandmaster#British Armed Forces|Bandmaster]] with the [[Royal Artillery]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.dolmetsch.com/Rudolph.htm |website=Dolmetsch Online |title=Rudolph Dolmetsch (1906{{ndash}}1942) |access-date=17 March 2016}}</ref>

''Ceramic'' sailed with Convoy ON 149 until it dispersed as scheduled in the North Atlantic. She then continued unescorted as planned.<ref name=Hague/> As on her previous departure in January, she first headed west because of the threat of enemy attack.

At midnight on 6–7 December, in cold weather and rough seas in the mid-Atlantic, {{GS|U-515||2}} hit ''Ceramic'' with a single [[torpedo]]. These were followed two or three minutes later by two more that hit ''Ceramic''{{'}}s engine room, stopping her engines and her electric lighting. The liner radioed a distress signal, which was received by the {{sclass|Emerald|cruiser}} {{HMS|Enterprise|D52|6}}. The crippled liner stayed afloat and her complement abandoned ship in good order, launching about eight [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboat]]s all full of survivors.<ref name=U2496/>

[[File:HMS Enterprise WWII IWM FL 005389.jpg|thumb|The [[light cruiser]] {{HMS|Enterprise|D52|6}} received ''Ceramic''{{'}}s distress signal]]
About three hours later ''U-515'' fired two more torpedoes, which broke the ship's back and sank her immediately. By now it was very stormy and raining. The heavy sea capsized some of the lifeboats and left many people struggling in the water. Those boats that were not capsized stayed afloat only by constant bailing.<ref name=U2496/>

Next morning the ''[[Befehlshaber der U-Boote|BdU]]'' ordered ''U-515'' to return to the position of the sinking to find out the ship's destination. About noon the U-boat commander, ''[[Captain lieutenant#Germany|Kapitänleutnant]]'' [[Werner Henke]], decided to rescue the ''Ceramic'''s skipper. In heavy seas, he sighted one of the lifeboats and its occupants waved to him. The storm was now almost [[Beaufort scale#Modern scale|Force 10]] and almost swamping ''U-515''{{'}}s [[Conning tower#Submarines|conning tower]], so Henke ordered his crew to make do with the first survivor they could find. This turned out to be [[Sapper]] Eric Munday of the [[Corps of Royal Engineers|Royal Engineers]], whom they rescued from the water and took prisoner aboard the submarine.<ref name=U2496/>

No other occupants of the lifeboats survived. The storm was too severe for neutral rescue ships from [[São Miguel Island]] in the [[Azores]] to put to sea.{{sfn|Slader|1988|p=234}} On 9 December the [[Portuguese Navy|Portuguese]] {{sclass|Douro|destroyer}} {{ship|NRP|Dão}} was sent to search for survivors, but found none.<ref name=U2496/>

Munday was kept prisoner aboard ''U-515'' for a month, including Christmas and New Year, until she completed her patrol. When she returned to [[Lorient]], [[Brittany]] on 6 January 1943 he was landed at [[Lorient U-boat base]] and sent to [[Stalag VIII-B]] in [[Upper Silesia]], where he remained a [[prisoner of war]] until 1945.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/person/45955.html |title=Eric Munday |date=1995–2021 |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net |access-date=20 January 2021}}</ref>