continuing to search. This was her last contact; nothing more is known of her, and there were no survivors from either vessel. It was believed that she had been sunk while picking up survivors or been lost in a marine accident. However German sources, assuming Gladiolus was on station, credited her loss to possible hits reported by U-558 or U-432 during the melee on the night of 16/17 October: Another source has argued definitively for a stray torpedo from at 00.07. However historian Bernard Edwards is clear that Gladiolus was lost without rejoining the convoy; while acknowledging the claim for a loss in the early hours of the 17th, he states it is more likely that she went down before that. In an interview with the BBC, former crew member Dick Turner speculated Gladiolus was unstable due to her refit, and had overturned during a violent manoeuvre. In the absence of any conclusive explanation, the actual cause of her loss is unknown. Notes References Clay Blair : Hitler’s U-Boat War Vol I (1996) Bernard Edwards : Donitz and the Wolf Packs (1996) Peter Elliott : Allied Escort Ships of World War II (1977) Paul Kemp : U-Boats Destroyed ( 1997) . External links HMS Gladiolus on the Arnold Hague database at convoyweb.org.uk. Flower Class Corvette Association , Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Navy World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1940 ships Maritime incidents in October 1941 Ships lost with all hands Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II