His recovery took months, and ended any thoughts hed had of a full-time career in the Navy. However, in May 24, the Allies began evacuating forces in Norway due to Germanys successful offensives into the Low Countries and France. The D-notice, or Defence Notice, also called DA-notice (Defence Advisory Notice), was a unique British government instruction devised in 1912. referenced. If a ship had a former name this would be written in brackets. Five minutes later, in one of the longest-range hits in naval history, the Scharnhorsts third volley screamed over fifteen miles to slam straight into the Gloriouss flight deck, blasting open a huge hole that rendered it unusable and knocking two Swordfish bombers into the water. Her pointed bow still poked from below a raised flight deck. However, some information about the Lancastrias sinking was made public within a matter of days, particularly six individual death notices in local newspapers. Many survivors perished from hypothermia or suffocated on fuel oil. British and Allied evacuation vessels took Lancastrias survivors aboard, the trawler HMT Cambridgeshire alone rescuing nearly 900 souls. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites Only Colin stood out, because he was dressed in a bright red jacket. those of the BBC. The ferrying trip took three to four hours. Families of men from both ships have attended an annual maritime commemmoration . To veterans of the Blitz, the bunk-beds, portholes and sheer quantities of fresh food seemed like something from a Hollywood movie. World War II: The cargo ship (1,525 GRT, 1920) was scuttled as a blockship at Dieppe, France. Certainly, there was little panic as everyone gathered at pre-arranged points. 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. There were multiple air raids and, in addition, the British feared possible U-boat attacks, so Captain Sharp decided to wait for a Royal Navy and/or RAF escort. World War II: The cargo ship (7,340 GRT) was bombed and sunk off Le Havre, France by Luftwaffe aircraft. She was converted to a troopship in 1940, and was used to transport the British Expeditionary Force to Norway following the German Invasion. Within a few weeks both would be dead after the ship was torpedoed and sunk by U-99 on the 18th October 1940 in the North Atlantic with the loss of all hands while sailing to the Clyde from Sydney, Cape Breton in Convoy SC-7. It was the first time Id really been able to grieve, he says. 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. 10 Historical Prophecies That Actually Came True 10- RMS Titanic Disaster. 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 . 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. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . World War II: The patrol boat (409 GRT, 1919) was scuttled at Le Verdon, France. As it hovered over the waves, it suddenly lurched, then one end jerked downwards and was smashed by a wall of water. This is a revised edition of the book published in 1985 as Who Will Take Our Children? What had happened was that Id lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. Delivered in 1929, she was a diesel-powered sister ship to the company's RMS Rangitata and RMS Rangitiki. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 due to war causes Chronological List of U.S. Franconia was assigned to Lorient while Lancastria continued toward St. Nazaire but because of the tidal channel on the Loire estuary Lancastria had to anchor in the Charpentier Roads about 5 nm (nautical miles) southwest of the actual port. Under the command of Captain HL Upton, she . The Glorious and her two escorting destroyers did not yet have radar, so Capt. The unusual disaster continues to evoke controversy, and even questioning in Parliament, decades later. 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. This story has been placed in the following categories. Information about the Lancastria sinking might be restricted by the Official Secrets Act. A tragedy in itself made worse by the fact they should never have been onboard to begin with. On December 19, 1940, the 'Isolda' was bombed by German plane and sunk three miles south of the Saltee Island. This left Colin sitting up to his chest in water with only the lifeboats buoyancy tanks preventing the boat from vanishing beneath the waves. 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. World War II: The cargo ship (2,975 GRT, 1906) struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Pantelleria. 2012 Sean Longden. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The following brief overview of the Lancastrias history is augmented with verified information from sources that Wynn might have consulted. Officially, the Royal Navy maintains this was to save fuel. In seconds, they were gone. Splinters also pierced one of the carriers boilers, slowing her down. 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. The Benares disaster happened in the mid-Atlantic, 600 miles (965km) west of Ireland. Its first two torpedoes missed, but the third scored a bulls eye, hitting the City of Benares. The City of Benares gave a great shudder and began to sink. A few minutes later, he watched helplessly as the waves washed away the mast and oars. Aboard one lifeboat, a freezing boy fell unconscious and slipped into the sea. In return, battleships almost never succeeded in closing into gun-range of carriers. Wynn cites seven online sources (p. 181), namely the British Newspaper Archive, the Britain at War website, the British section of Ancestry.com, the Militarian Forum, the Forces War Records, the Wartime Memories Project, and the War Graves Records, which appear to have been mistakenly recorded as a .com website rather than .org. Although he could no longer feel his hands, he helped a crew member heave her body out to sea. Seager Co. Tempus Shipping Ltd). But a carrier could deploy over a hundred airplanes that could strike targets hundreds of miles away with torpedoes and bombs. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (302 GRT, 1906) was scuttled at Brest, France. At 4 p.m. on June 8, 1940, the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious was cruising west across the Norwegian Sea towards the British naval base of Scapa Flow when her lookout spotted two grey blips over a dozen miles away on the horizon. This elderly nurse sitting next to me whod earlier been comforting me became distressed, he says. Chris Pleasance explains how Do not sell or share my personal information. The ship was hit by a torpedo on the morning of 2 July, killing many of those on board. Colin was assigned to Lifeboat 2. The only comfort came from urinating in the water: for a few brief seconds, he could feel the warmth swirling around his legs. It was fourth English pounds. LANCASTRIA (June 17, 1940) The loss of the Lancastria was the fourth largest maritime disaster of the war. I was just waiting for someone to say: What are you doing in your pyjamas at this time in the morning? But no one even looked at me.. They werent the only parents desperate to send their children abroad. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The CWGC has the names of 513 Merchant Seamen aged 14 to 16 who died between 1939-1945. Interestingly, 2040 or 2041 should also be when restricted British documents on the Pearl Harbor attack are made public. York rescued 42 survivors but three more died aboard her. World War II: The cargo ship (1,373 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The sailing vessel (26 GRT) struck a mine and sank at, World War II: The coaster (509 GRT, 1937) struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off. World War II: The naval tug (100 GRT) was scuttled at Lorient, France. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. Under the British Official Secrets Act, the report on the Lancastria cannot be published until the year 2040. World War II: The cargo ship (1,746 GRT, 1921) struck a mine and sank in Danish waters off. 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. The ship was apparently equipped with sixteen lifeboats and 2,500 life jackets, but many of the boats were damaged from the air attacks while others were unusable because of the ships starboard list and hull angle. The destroyers 4.7 lacked the range and penetrating power to threaten the German battlecruisersbut their torpedoes could cause devastating damage if they could land a hit. 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(Look 18/06/1940), World War II: The naval trawler (348 GRT, 1929) ran aground at Brest, France and was abandoned without loss. It stayed upright, but the big waves breaking over the bows quickly swamped it. The date was September 17, 1940. "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. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. The SS Athenia was the first ship sunk by Germany in World War II and resulted in the death of 118 civilians. 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 From the 90 whod set out from Liverpool, there were only 13 survivors. 11, two out of 11 children remained. The SS Andrea Doria was a flagship of the Italian Line. World War II: The cargo ship (3,577 GRT, 1918) was torpedoed and sunk in the, The cargo ship (1,478 GRT, 1924) collided with, World War II: The fishing vessel (96 GRT, 1919) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off, World War II: The cargo ship (3,584 GRT, 1910) was scuttled at, World War II: The tanker (603 GRT) struck a mine in the English Channel off, World War II: The cargo ship (2,317 GRT, 1904) was shelled and sunk in the, The cargo ship (351 GRT, 1920) collided with, World War II: The minesweeper (682/874 t, 1939) struck a mine off, World War II: The cargo ship (2,863 GRT, 1937) struck a mine in the, World War II: The sailing vessel (183 GRT, 1902) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The coaster (798 GRT, 1904) was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the, World War II: The coaster (145 GRT) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The trawler (217 GRT, 1904) struck a mine in the North Sea (, World War II: The cargo ship (5,888 GRT, 1936) was torpedoed and damaged in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,212 GRT, 1927) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 15 nautical miles (28km; 17mi) off Tory Island by, World War II: The cargo ship (5,415 GRT, 1933) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: Operation Juno: The tanker (5,666 GRT, 1928) was shelled and sunk in the Norwegian Sea off Jan Mayen (, World War II: Operation Juno: The troopship (19,840 GRT, 1924) was shelled and sunk in the Norwegian Sea (. The Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-Up, June 1940. A German submarine torpedoed the ship hours after Britain declared war on Hitler in 1939 - more than 100 people, including many Americans, were killed. Industry chief demands planned corporation tax hike from 19 to 25% in this Ukrainian soldier takes out five Russian tanks and three armoured vehicles in ONE DAY using US-supplied Ukraine 'hits major Russian air base in fresh strike' a day after kamikaze drone crashed down just 68 miles How did Russia lose HALF of its 45,000 elite paratroopers in just seven months? He had a good war by late 1940, sinking eight ships in six wartime patrols, mostly in the North Sea, before the prestigious commission on U-123. 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. You may not use more than a few lines without permission. Published: 00:26 GMT, 10 March 2012 | Updated: 00:27 GMT, 10 March 2012. An elderly nurse beckoned him to her side, so he switched places. 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. "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. Captain Sharp estimated 5,500, but one Royal Engineer officer was told that there were more than 7,200 persons aboard. World War II: The cargo ship (1,684 GRT, 1920) was bombed and sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, France by Luftwaffe aircraft. Enough was enough, his parents decided, as the bombs began to fall. Contributed on: 22 May 2005. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us. She simply said: Theres your ship. In 1940, these included Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers, Gloster Sea Gladiator fighters, as well monoplane Blackburn Skua monoplane bomber/fighters. A pre-war photograph of the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff in Hamburg. Early in 1923 the vessel together with two other . I stayed on board the ship in 2011 and have always found the history of the ship to be fascinating. A4103056. The Royal Navy apparently remained unaware of the battle and made no rescue effort, only learning what happened after Germany announced the victory. Lancastrias survivors aboard, the bunk-beds, portholes and sheer quantities of fresh food seemed like from... 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