The CWGC has the names of 513 Merchant Seamen aged 14 to 16 who died between 1939-1945. In seconds, they were gone. Lifeboat No. Meanwhile, Lifeboat 5 was making an uneven descent. She was subsequently salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. Fateful: The S.S City of Benares, passenger ship is launched in 1936 and would later be sunk while carrying 90 children aged five to 15. Two of the youngest serving Merchant Seamen killed in WWII. I stayed on board the ship in 2011 and have always found the history of the ship to be fascinating. The ship was among twenty others that participated in the evacuation of 2,653 British, French, and Polish troops from Norway when Operation Alphabet began on May 24,1940. These decisions proved fatal, as that same day, the German Kriegsmarine dispatched surface forces including the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on Operation Juno, a sortie redirected to interdict Allied evacuation ships. Contributed on: 30 March 2004. The evacuees were in several western French ports including Lorient and St. Nazaire on the Loire River. But he couldnt. World War II: The cargo ship (1,522 GRT, 1923) was torpedoed and damaged in the, World War II: The cargo ship (3,554 GRT, 1920) was damaged and abandoned at Brest, France. Unlike the other youngsters, who had official escorts, he was travelling independently, though his parents had asked Laszlo Raskai, a Hungarian journalist, to keep an eye on him. Colin was still trying to comfort his neighbour until a man told him she was dead. Already 600 miles out to sea, the SS City of Benares was carrying Colin and 89 other child evacuees to the U.S. and Canada, where they could wait out the end of the war in safety. Ships Whatever the case, this event likely remains the largest single-ship loss of life in British maritime history, more than the RMS Titanic, which had an estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard and suffered over 1,500 fatalities. She looked at me and said: What have you done with all your clothes? he says. Below the waves, however, the convoy was being trailed by U-48, a German U-boat. She was 578 ft. in length and 16,000 gross tons, designed to accommodate 2,200 passengers in three classes. The SS Orama was built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness in 1924 for the Orient Line with accommodation for 1,700 passengers. All four crewmen died. A camera crew onboard the Scharnhorst filmed the engagement, and the Gloriouss sinking, which you can see here. NHF has decommissioned and is no longer accepting new members or donations. useful bibliography and discussion. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Just as importantly, in an era where radar technology was in its infancy, airplanes were the most effective tool for scouting out vast swathes of the ocean to locate enemy fleets. At first, he thought the Benares must have collided with another ship. Couple find note in chimney that reveals their 290,000 house was 100 times cheaper 50 years ago. This left Colin sitting up to his chest in water with only the lifeboats buoyancy tanks preventing the boat from vanishing beneath the waves. His parents found out Colin was alive only when they spotted a photo of him in a newspaper. The date was September 17, 1940. This list of sources is concerning as there are at least a dozen sources that would have provided additional information to flesh-out his brief narrative, namely Winston Churchills 1949 The Second World War, Vol. 'How much can business take?' Stroking her hair and telling her that rescue was on its way, he did his best to preserve her morale and her life. He and the other children were watched over that night as they slept but despite all efforts, three more died. I could see people dying around me. It was fourth English pounds. This is what happenned. When sent to newspapers or other publications it prevented particular information from being made public for reasons of state security. Five days into the voyage, the Royal Navy escort ships headed off, confident there was no danger. It was time to evacuate their precious son to safety and that had to be beyond British shores. The German battlecruisers then hastily left the scene without picking up survivors. At 5 PM a shell slammed into the Gloriouss bridge, killing DOyly and most of the command crew. You must stay awake., Safe: Survivors of the torpedoed S.S City of Benares passenger ship huddle together on one of the life rafts awaiting rescue. List of shipwrecks in June 1940 - Wikipedia List of shipwrecks in June 1940 View history The list of shipwrecks in June 1940 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during June 1940 . Many thanks. Wynn has previously authored and co-authored books for the Your Towns & Cities in the Great War series published by Pen & Sword in addition to half a dozen non-fiction books and crime thrillers.. Colin acted quickly. All nine crew were rescued by the trawler, The coaster (270 GRT) ran ashore on Kalder Steel, off, The cargo ship (3,303 or 3,240 GRT, 1913) struck a submerged wreck in the, The coaster (121 GRT, 1918) sank off the mouth of the. U-123 was to be his last front line command,. The site of the sinking is not an official War Grave safeguarded by The Protection of Military Remains Act of 1986 because the British have no jurisdiction over the French territorial waters where Lancastrias wreck lies, but the French government has provided an appropriate level of protection to the site, prohibiting diving on the wreck, for example. The mine exploded sinking the vessel. I thought: Wake up, Colin! It was his mother who came to collect him. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 Chronological List of U.S. Hold No. Germany initially denied involvement. "Naval Events, March 1940, Part 1 of 2, Friday 1st Thursday 14th", "Verluste Deutscher Handelsschiffe 1939-1945 und unter deutscher Flagge fahrender auslndischer Schiffe: 1940", "Naval Events, February 1940, Part 1 of 2, Thursday 1st - Wednesday 14th", "Naval Events, March 1940, Part 2 of 2, Friday 15th Sunday 31st", "Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939 - 1945. A total of 576 men died in this tragedy, the first Royal Navy ship sunk in the war. Merchant ship movement card (catalogue reference: BT 389) In the top left corner of the record is the ship's name. "Naval Events, June 1940, Part 1 of 4, Saturday 1st Friday 7th", "Norwegian Homefleet - WW II, Ships starting with Sa through SN", "The History of the Eastbourne Lifeboat Station", alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (T), "Naval Events, May 1940, Part 1 of 4, Wednesday 1st Tuesday 7th", "Naval Events, June 1940, Part 2 of 4, Saturday 8th Friday 14th", "Norwegian Homefleet - WW II, Ships starting with K", "Tyne Built Ships. Early in 1923 the vessel together with two other . She was built in 1936 and sailed for 30 years before retiring in 1967. World War II: The tug (239 GRT) struck a mine in the North Sea and sank. World War II: The cargo ship (2,975 GRT, 1906) struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Pantelleria. The date was September 17, 1940. World War II: The passenger ship (2,113 GRT, 1908) was bombed and sunk in the Norwegian Sea (. His dreams, however, were rudely interrupted that night by a loud bang. Theyd just woken up.. She was requisitioned as an accommodation ship in 1940, but was briefly removed from service in 1942 so she could play the part of the Titanic in a crude German propaganda film about the sinking of the famous vessel. The RAF Hurricanes of No.46 squadron were relatively fast and lacked arrestor hooksbut by tying on sandbags, the pilots managed to weigh their tails down and pull off short carrier landings. If it can be proved that Captain Sharp ignored the Ministry of Defence instructions not to exceed the maximum loading capacity of 3000 persons, grounds for compensation claims could be enormous. World War II: The trawler (108 GRT, 1931) was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of. Ardent was finally caught darting out for another torpedo run and set ablaze by repeated hits. The Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-Up, June 1940. Enough was enough, his parents decided, as the bombs began to fall. The Glorious first saw action in World War II providing air cover for the Allied expeditionary force seeking to support Norways resistance to Nazi invasion in April 1940, her Sea Gladiators shooting down several German bombers. The only comfort came from urinating in the water: for a few brief seconds, he could feel the warmth swirling around his legs. Your email address will not be published. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of. After receiving news of the Lancastria disaster, Churchill had placed a D-notice on the incident, forbidding any knowledge of the sinking reaching an already demoralized public. The term RMS dates to 1840 when only the fastest and most reliable ships were contracted by the British government to carry mail. Ships Sunk or Damaged in World War II World War II: The cargo liner (7,549 GRT, 1920) was spotted off, World War II: The cargo ship (3,598 GRT, 1919) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west north west of. Even so, he was already freezing and soaked to the skin. World War II: The tanker (7,333 GRT, 1914) was scuttled at Brest, France. Sbastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. The SS Andrea Doria was a flagship of the Italian Line. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. World War II: The cargo ship (2,460 GRT, 1909) was bombed and sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, France by Luftwaffe aircraft. On Lifeboat 10, just one child had survived and 14 had died. People were jumping. Only one crew member from the Ardent, two from the Acasta, and thirty-six from the Glorious survived to be picked up by Norwegian and German forces. But once he had returned home, the subject of his ordeal became taboo. Chronological List of U.S. If a ship had a former name this would be written in brackets. Left to right, Kenneth Sparkes, Derek Capel, Freddie Steele, Billy Short and Howard Clayton, Far from being distraught at leaving his parents behind, Colin was excited at the prospect of stepping into a real-life Western: I thought of the sun and the hills. Fortunately for Colin, he was better off than some: he had his padded life-jacket, a balaclava and a pair of string gloves that his mother had put in his pockets. List of shipwrecks: 10 June 1940 Ship Country Description, Msd Pro Billet Distributor Wiring Diagram. We have details of 11 people who were on board. Besides being called the World War and the Great War, which were the most common names, it was also referred to merely as The War, orThe War in Europe, the War of Nations, the 1914 War, or some variation on these and other names. All morning, Colin continued to heave corpses away from his boat. Afterwards, he says: We were all becoming very sleepy, delirious. 2 held about 800 RAF personnel. Wynn does not clarify what materials he utilized from these sources and there are no footnotes, in-text citations, or endnotes. The loss of the LANCASTRIA was also the most . Nevertheless, within hours of disembarking troops at Liverpool on June 14th, Lancastria was reassigned, along with the 20,341 gross tons liner Franconia, to Operation Aerial, the evacuation of British civilians, embassy staff, and support troops from France. Object description. While her smaller 15-centimeter cannons exchanged shots with the Ardent, Scharnhorsts big 11 turrets blazed away at the distant flat-top. Mr Raskai bravely helped me into it as it was crashing about against the ship. Alexia British Motor tanker The Alexia after conversion to the MAC ship HMS Alexia. Among the children floundering in the waves were Bess Walder, 15, and Beth Cummings, 14, who managed to grab the up-turned keel and hung on for dear life. This elderly nurse sitting next to me whod earlier been comforting me became distressed, he says. If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us. The ship, built in 1940 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding in Quincy, Massachusetts, was one of eight sister ships built for the United States Maritime Commission on behalf of American Export Lines. . RMS was a sign of distinction and quality. Both the 20,000 ton liner Oronsay and the Franconia were damaged by bombs and strafing, the former had her bridge devastated while the damaged Franconia was able to limp back to England for repairs. 'This is the most ridiculous thing I've seen!' World War II: The ocean liner (28,124 GRT, 1932) struck a mine in the, World War II: The cargo ship (3,651 GRT, 1912) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,147 GRT, 1912) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The tug was scuttled at Brest, France. The passengers were thrown into the sea. Then, mercifully, he threw himself overboard. And the cowboys eating around campfires.. Although he could no longer feel his hands, he helped a crew member heave her body out to sea. Grave 1. These little kids beside me some of them were only five years old, he says. Only extraordinary circumstancesparticularly the lack of Combat Air Patrolmade the ambush of the Glorious possible by two large capital ships on a clear day. Decades after Apapa was lost , on the 15th of November 1940 the identically named MV APAPA was bombed and sunk by a German FW 200 Condor aircraft, two hundred miles from County Mayo in Ireland. World War II: The cargo ship (2,155 GRT, 1902) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (6,694 GRT, 1917) was bombed and damaged in the English Channel off. 2012 Sean Longden. What a story, and how lucky are we,born just after WW2, for the brave men and women, who fought for our freedom, Your email address will not be published. They didnt have anyone at the ends holding it steady. Once filled, the lifeboat was lowered into the raging sea. Many years later, I was asked by my father, Oliver Gleasure (Irish Guards) to find the book, so he could gift it to my uncle. Return to Allied Ships hit by U-boats Front page About Contact us FAQ Glossary What's new Ships Sunk, Damaged or Captured December 1941 (82 ships), Chronological list of U.S. ships sunk or damaged, Geographical list of U.S. ships sunk or damaged, Alphabetical list of U.S. ships sunk or damaged, Merchant Marine Casualties However, some information about the Lancastrias sinking was made public within a matter of days, particularly six individual death notices in local newspapers. 1,596 Royal Navy and Air Force personnel died, many freezing to death awaiting rescue. World War II: The cargo ship (6,201 GRT, 1915) was intercepted north of Iceland (, World War II: The cargo ship (710 GRT, 1914) struck a mine and sank in the, The cargo ship (6,281 GRT, 1919) ran aground at night 85 nautical miles (157km) south of, The cargo ship (2,679 GRT, 1922) collided with, World War II: The cargo ship (3,072 GRT, 1918) was torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol Channel 32 nautical miles (59km) off, World War II: The fishing vessel (26 GRT) sunk in the North Sea off the, The tanker barge (1,155 GRT, 1904) ran aground at, World War II: The coaster (643 GRT, 1922) was torpedoed and sunk in the, The collier (1,323 GRT, 1924) ran aground on the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,097 GRT, 1920) was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea (, World War II: The cargo ship (2,719 GRT, 1926) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the north coast of, The cargo ship (1,918 GRT, 1911) collided with, The auxiliary patrol vessel ran aground near, World War II: The cargo ship (4,979 GRT, 1913) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The fishing vessel (33 GRT) was sunk in the North Sea off, The cargo ship (5,760 GRT, 1916) collided with, World War II: The tanker (6,236 GRT, 1936) was torpedoed and damaged in the, World War II: The trawler (165 GRT, 1897) caught a mine in her nets whilst fishing in the North Sea. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But a carrier could deploy over a hundred airplanes that could strike targets hundreds of miles away with torpedoes and bombs. The carriers tall crows nest was unoccupied; and only twelve of her eighteen boilers were kept active, limiting her speed. Row 1. What had happened was that Id lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. These advantages meant that battleships and battlecruisers were repeatedly sunk by carrier-based aircraft, from Pearl Harbor to Taranto to the Battle of the Philippines Sea. 'What had happened was that I'd lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. Rangitane left Auckland on Sunday 24 November 1940, en route to Britain via the Panama Canal. Scharnhorst limped home, listing at five degrees, and would spend the next six months in Trondheim, Norway undergoing repairs. The prevailing narrative of naval warfare in World War II concerns how the carrier decisively unseated the battleship as the dominant naval weapon system. At 19, he joined the Royal Navy for his National Service. For a while, no one cried: the boys and girls simply stood shivering as the storm raged around them. There are 1,472 names on his list of the deceased, extracted from the War Graves website, but theCommonwealth War Graves Commission records 1,816 burials with more than 400 in France (Fenby 2005, p. 234) and the Lancastria Association identifies 1,738 individuals that died aboard the ship . Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. World War II: The harbour defence vessel (608 GRT) was scuttled at Dieppe, France. As a force-ten gale whipped the waves into a fury around the ship, an 11-year-old boy lay alone in his cabin reading The Beano and dreaming of adventure. 2: Their Finest Hour , Geoffrey Bonds 1959 Lancastria, John Wests 1988 The Loss of Lancastria, Brian Crabbs 2002 The Forgotten Tragedy: The Story of the Loss of HMT Lancastria, Jonathan Fenbys 2005 The Sinking of the Lancastria: Britains Greatest Maritime Disaster and Churchills Cover-up, Jacques Perruchon and Jacques Leroux 2005 Juin 1940 sur les ctes charentaises: ces trangers qui ont refus notre dfaite, Hugh Sebag-Montefiores 2006 The Sinking of the Lancastria in Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man, Jonathan Fenby and James Goodes 2008 The Sinking of the Lancastria, John Hanleys 2013 The Last Boat, Chair of the HMT Lancastria Association Raye Dancocks 2011 The Lancastria a Secret Sacrifice in World War Two, Graham Frasers 2015 Lancastria: The forgotten tragedy of World War Two, and the Lancastria Archive. However, on June 8 DOyly-Hughes received permission to depart independently for Scapa Flow escorted by just two destroyers. There are no actual transcripts of these speeches, but they have been reconstructed from Churchills notes given to Charles Eade. World War II: The cargo ship (440 GRT, 1903) was bombed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 13 nautical miles (24km) north of Tobruk, The troopship (2,427 GRT, 1928) suffered an engine room fire, exploded and sank in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,127 GRT, 1920) was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of Ireland (, World War II: The cargo ship (3,214 GRT, 1928) was torpedoed and sunk in the. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. World War II: Operation Dynamo: The fishing vessel (39 GRT) was sunk in the North Sea at Dunkerque, France, by enemy action. The ship, carrying more than 400 passengers and crew, included a precious cargo of 90 evacuees under a scheme. There, he attended a local school until it was evacuated to Cornwall. those of the BBC. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, first carrier-launched naval air strike in history, North Korea: We Asked 27 Experts What They Think Will Happen in 2019. Only a few dozen would survive one of the most controversial naval battles of World War IIperhaps the only time battleships single handedly took out an aircraft carrier. World War II: The cargo ship (1,828 GRT, 1923) with a German prize crew was proceeding behind the steamer Inger when she detonated a mine (laid by, World War II: The cargo ship (1,081 GRT, 1923) struck a mine and sank in, World War II: The passenger cargo vessel (10,076 or 9,349 GRT, 1912) was scuttled in the, World War II: The ferry-transport (2,949 GRT, 1920) was bombed and damaged at. For the scuttling of HMS Mashobra on this day, see the entry for 25 May 1940. From somewhere out there in the deep, a German U-boat had fired a torpedo directly into the ship, just below the childrens sleeping quarters. The much smaller vessel immediately laid a smoke screen which it used as cover to launch hit-and-run torpedo attacks. World War II: The coaster (397 GRT) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with all seven hands. A pre-war photograph of the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff in Hamburg. It was no ordinary jacket. The only sound was from a ball bearing hed placed in his bedside drawer, which was sliding ever more frantically from side to side. We said: If you want them, theyre 600 miles out at the bottom of the Atlantic! he recalls. They were in their dressing-gowns, with no life-belt, clutching teddy bears. Chapter 5 focuses on the actual sinking of the Lancastria while Chapter 11 focuses on its aftermath. : Carron United Kingdom World War II: The Admiralty-requisitioned cargo ship . This attack however sank the HMS Triad. An elderly nurse beckoned him to her side, so he switched places. Goodbye, Colin. He recalls feeling relieved that his buttoned-up family didnt go in for the kind of tearful scenes that were going on all around him. The 224-meter long vessel still could only carry a smaller air group of forty-eight aircraft compared to larger U.S. fleet carriers. Despite his mothers disapproval, Colin developed a curious desire to return to the sea. World War II: The Adua-class submarine (686/843 t, 1934) was depth charged and sunk west of Crete (3529N 2006E / 35.483N 20.100E / 35.483; 20.100) by HMSDainty and HMSIlex (both Royal Navy). Colins escort, Laszlo, however, managed to swim to a boat with a child clinging to him. For decades, the Royal Navy offered a vaguely exculpatory account of the disaster, but in the 1980s historian Stephen Roskill published an article holding poor command culture by Captain DOylyy responsible for the tragedy. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 due to war causes Chronological List of U.S. In fact, HMS Hurricane, a Royal Navy destroyer, was already combing the area. World War II: The patrol boat (409 GRT, 1919) was scuttled at Le Verdon, France. Later, he received an oak-leaf emblem, which came with instructions to wear it on the ribbon of the War Medal an award he was too young to earn. 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