 On 7 December 1917 she was carrying 2,380 tons of coal from the River Tyne to London when the German Type UB III submarine torpedoed and sank her about off the South Cheek of Robin Hood's Bay.All 20 crew were rescued by a motor patrol boat and landed at Whitby.SS "The Buffs was a 3,431 GRT collier built by S.P.