Owned by Det Danske Kulkompagni she was torpedoed along with another Danish steamer, 'Viking'. Thirty men lost their lives in the two attacks, 15 of the crew of 20 from the Bothal. The attack was made in early morning and the impact of the torpedo explosions severed the Bothal, covering one part of the ship with the other in clam fashion and falling wreckage caused havoc among the crew, some of whow were killed outright. Rafts were scrambled overboard but few of the men could reach them.  Those who did heard the cry of their shipmates but were unable to save them as the rafts drifted rapidly further from the awful scene. One 20 year old seaman swam desperately for an hour to overtake a raft and finally succeeded and was hauled on board by his comrades. That evening, two of those rafts were spotted by an RAF plane 28 miles south east of Wick and the 'City of Edinburgh', under coxswain Neil Stewart Jnr, was launched at 7.45pm. In moderate seas and a stiff NNW breeze, the lifeboat men began a search of the area and they eventually found one raft with 2 men in it from the 'Viking'. a further search was made and then suddenly the lifeboat men spotted a small light, on the horizon. They went to check and found that it was coming from a torch being shone from a liferaft with 5 men in it from the 'Bothal'. One of these men had been seriously injured with two fractured legs and as the lifeboat men tended to his injuries, coxswain Stewart took the lifeboat back to Wick at full speed, the survivors being landed there at 6.30am. Four men were injured and required hospital treatment. Among the rescued was an Estonian and a seaman belonging to Faroe. 

In another report it is claimed she was torpedoed while in ballast by U19 at German position AN1680, 28 miles SE of Wick. Position 58 21N, 02 22W.

The Bothal was built in 1920 by Ferguson Bros. of steel and was 2109 gross tons and measured 275.4' x 41.1' x 18.1', (83m long by 12m wide). She had triple-expansion engines delivering 213 nhp. She was registered in Copenhagen.