The motor ship
Taurus(III) was built in 1935 by A/S Akers Mek. Verk in Oslo for the Wilhelmsen
shipping line. A graceful fast vessel of 4,767 gross tons, she measured
408' in length, with a beam of 55' and a draught of 25'.Only four years after Taurus was completed World War II broke out. After the German occupation of Norway on 9th April 1940, 44 of the Wilhelmsen Line's vessels, outwith Norwegian boundaries came under the control of the Norwegian government in London and thus under the British Ministry of War.
In May 1941 Taurus set off from Freetown loaded with a cargo of foodstuffs on a passage up the west coast of Africa, rounding Britain and passing down the east coast destined for Hull. At 0044 hours on the morning of 6th June 1941 she was making good progress in convoy. She had just passed Aberdeen and Stonehaven. She was suddenly attacked by an enemy aircraft and three bombs were dropped from low altitude. All the bombs exploded in the water close to her hull. Some plates were burst and her hull started flooding with water. She took on a list to port and started to settle by the stern. She was taken in tow for the port of Montrose some 15 miles away but two hours later she was the victim of a further air attack.
Three more bombs were
dropped. As with the last attack these all missed but exploded close
enough to the hull to cause further damage. She started to settle more
quickly into the water and the tow was diverted to run her aground on the shore
nearby. She never made the refuge of the shore and sank in 50 metres of
water some 2 ½ miles offshore.Today she sits on her keel in relatively good condition, her f'c'stle and stern sections having rolled over onto their port sides.
The history, sinking and dive details of the Taurus are described in much greater detail in the book Dive Scotland's Greatest Shipwrecks.