Wreck of Irish fishing vessel sunk by U-boat in World War II finally found off Donegal coast

Irish Independent

02-06-2025

Just over 85 years after the steam trawler Leukos went missing with 11 young fishermen on board, the wreck of the vessel has been located by diver and submariner John Kearney's ­commercial submersible in 105 metres of water.
Mr Kearney, a former Naval Service diver, is now hoping to contact relatives of those who died in the attack – from Dublin, England and Scotland – with a view to laying a plaque on the wreck after further examination.
Mystery has surrounded why the 216-tonne trawler was targeted by the German submarine U-38 (Heinrich Liebe), and whether it was trying to use its neutrality as an Irish-owned vessel to shield five British fishing vessels from enemy fire.
Owned by the Dublin Steam ­Trawling Co Ltd, the Leukos had been working in Donegal Bay close to five vessels from Fleetwood, England, at the time.
Video footage which Mr Kearney recorded from his submersible, Atlantic Explorer 2, shows that the bow of the vessel is missing – indicating that it may have been cut in two.
The Uboat.net research website states that at 9.13pm on March 9, 1940, the neutral Leukos, under skipper James Potter Thomasson (28), was attacked without warning by submarine U-38 about 48km north-west of Tory.
It says that the U-boat spotted six trawlers near Tory, and thought they were forming a patrol line. It says the U-boat had surfaced and fired a shot from its deck gun at the Leukos.
The shot is said to have hit the ­trawler's engine room, and it sank. The U-boat waited one hour and then continued its patrol.
On board with Mr Thomasson, who was from Dublin, were fireman Michael Cullen (17) from Ringsend, Dublin, mate William Donnelly (no age recorded) from Blackpool, England, apprentice James Hawkins (17) from Ringsend, Dublin, cook Patricio McCarthy (42) from Dublin and chief engineer Alexander McLeod from Stornoway, Scotland.
Also on board were young deckhands Thomas Mulligan and Anthony Pill from Dublin, bosun PJ Scanlon from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, second engineer Bernard Smith (23) from Marino, Dublin, and apprentice Robert Sumler (16) from Dublin.
The Leukos was only reported missing on March 12, three days after the ­sinking, when it failed to return to Dublin.
A lifeboat bearing the ship's logo was washed ashore near Scarinish on ­Tiree on the Scottish west coast on March 21, 1940.
Mr Kearney, from Baltimore, Co Cork, has been involved in many search, rescue and recovery operations in Irish waters.
Last year, he acquired the first of two commercial Dutch-built submersibles, as the craft offers a much larger ­window for working at depth than diving.
There are many stories about what really happened, as some say that it was torpedoed
The Atlantic Submersible 2, which he deployed off Donegal last week, can take three people to a depth of 300 metres for 18 hours. It is currently ­undertaking a number of searches around the coast for the non-profit company, Fastnet Maritime Heritage, he said.
'I had obtained the drawings of the Leukos, and knew the reported position where it was sunk 12 nautical miles north-west of Tory, so I would say that without doubt this is it. I picked a ­really calm day last week and began diving at 4am. I could see the rudder, the ­propeller, the engine space, but the wheelhouse had gone.
'A pod of dolphins met up with us and accompanied us on the dive and to the wreck and halfway back into Lough Swilly.'
Mr Kearney says the Leukos hull ­requires further forensic examination, if funding is forthcoming.
Seamus Bovaird, a director of the Inishowen Maritime Museum in Greencastle, Co Donegal, welcomed Mr Kearney's confirmation of the vessel's location, and said the Leukos had 'almost been forgotten about'.
'The crew who came from Ringsend and Dublin would be remembered in this area, and a wreath was laid for it at sea by a Greencastle vessel some years ago,' he said.
'There are many stories about what really happened, as some say that it was torpedoed and others say the U-boat started shelling the fleet, while there is another story that the Leukos tried to ram the submarine.'
A total of 18 Irish vessels were sunk during the second world war, the first being the passenger ship Munster in Liverpool Bay in February 1940, a month before the Leukos.
The late artist Kenneth King was commissioned by the Maritime Institute of Ireland to paint the Leukos as part of a series organised by the institute's president Des Branigan to commemorate the role of Irish seafarers during 'the Emergency'.
Maritime historian Capt Frank Forde reported that 136 people died aboard the 16 ships lost and 14 fishermen died on two trawlers, including the Leukos.