Lifeboat in the North Atlantic

This painting entitled Torpedoed, North Atlantic depicts a merchant ship’s crew saving themselves in a lifeboat after their ship (in the background) has been torpedoed in the North Atlantic. The artist, Paul Goranson, likely based this painting on his own experience. On 10 March 1943, the German U-Boat U-221 torpedoed the merchant ship S.S. Tucurinca in the North Atlantic, killing one of the ship’s crew. The remaining crew and passengers, including Goranson, were later rescued. Escape from a sinking ship, however, did not always guarantee survival, especially in the North Atlantic’s cold waters and often rough weather.

Flight Lieutenant Paul Alexander Goranson was an official war artist with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He created this painting in 1947, just after World War II.

This lifeboat is similar to those on S.S. Caribou.