In June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed to a new trans-Atlantic evacuation scheme. Those who survived the incident were instructed not to speak about their experience. Enclosed was a certificate, signed by Churchill, that commended him for brave conduct in the Merchant Navy. SS Emidio in Vancouver, June 1932. With his red life-jacket already on over his pyjamas, he headed up the stairs. World War II: The Type M-1935 minesweeper (682/874 t, 1939) struck a mine and sank in the Norwegian Sea north of Kristiansand, Norway (, World War II: The tug (400 GRT, 1919) was scuttled at Brest, France. Splinters also pierced one of the carriers boilers, slowing her down. Information about the Lancastria sinking might be restricted by the Official Secrets Act. It was in the 1970s a challenge, but I eventually, after many disappointing follows, found a second hand copy, with a book dealer. World War II: The cargo ship (7,405 GRT, 1914) was bombed and damaged in the Bay of Biscay off. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 Ships Captured or Detained 1939 (80 ships) Ships Sunk, Damaged or Detained 1940 (48 ships) 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Naval Historical Foundation 1306 Dahlgren Avenue, SE Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374 1-202-678-4333 info@navyhistory.org. World War II: The cargo ship (873 or 909 GRT, 1904) struck a mine off Cape Granitola, Italy and sank. 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 (. Interestingly, 2040 or 2041 should also be when restricted British documents on the Pearl Harbor attack are made public. He then struck out to rescue another child but both disappeared in the swirling seas. While her smaller 15-centimeter cannons exchanged shots with the Ardent, Scharnhorsts big 11 turrets blazed away at the distant flat-top. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of. The passengers were thrown into the sea. Only Colin stood out, because he was dressed in a bright red jacket. The list of shipwrecks in June 1940 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during June 1940. All six crew survived. Lifeboat No. I was barefoot, wearing pink pyjamas and my life-jacket, when I walked into the Central Hotel in Glasgow. Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the DOyly kicked Heath off the ship and departed on missions to ferry Royal Air Force Gladiators and Hurricanes to Norway. 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. Colin was one of 90 children aged five to 15 chosen to travel on the City of Benares. His dreams, however, were rudely interrupted that night by a loud bang. Aboard one lifeboat, a freezing boy fell unconscious and slipped into the sea. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. The Sinking of the Lancastria Stan Scislowski On Monday, June 17, 1940, the Cunard Liner, Lancastria, pressed into war service as a troopship was anchored . 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. A pre-war photograph of the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff in Hamburg. Return to Allied Ships hit by U-boats Front page About Contact us FAQ Glossary What's new 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. Ships The ship was hit by a torpedo on the morning of 2 July, killing many of those on board. Certainly, there was little panic as everyone gathered at pre-arranged points. 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? 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 . The year before, his parents had pulled him out of his prep school in St Johns Wood, North London, and deposited him with his grandparents in Lingfield, Surrey. Today, it sits in a glass case at the Imperial War Museum in London a reminder of all the children whose parents loved them too much to keep them at home. She was subsequently salvaged and repaired by the Germans and entered. referenced. 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.. Britain Ship Losses 1940 This page records the details of every British ship lost during the two world wars, including pictures where possible. As Colin recalls, his mothers attitude was: Least said, soonest mended.. web page as long as you cite American Merchant Marine at War, www.usmm.org, For the first few days after his rescue, he remained very weak as the Hurricane took the survivors to Glasgow. The cargo ship (1,537 GRT, 1938) sank off West Point, The cargo ship (1,314 GRT, 1913) ran aground in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,512 GRT, 1911) struck a mine and sank in the, The trawler (162 GRT, 1897) sank after a collision with the trawler. The youngest known Second World War service death being that of Raymond Victor Steed, age 14, Galley Boy from the S.S. Copyright 2011-2022 Naval Historical Foundation. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (302 GRT, 1906) was scuttled at Brest, France. . 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. Enough was enough, his parents decided, as the bombs began to fall. Meanwhile, hail and rain continued to fall. Warships, submarines, tankers, cargo, passenger, troopships and so on. The carriers tall crows nest was unoccupied; and only twelve of her eighteen boilers were kept active, limiting her speed. The 224-meter long vessel still could only carry a smaller air group of forty-eight aircraft compared to larger U.S. fleet carriers. Lancastria was attacked, apparently by five Junkers Ju 88 dive bombers, and the ship capsized, and sank within twenty minutes mid-afternoon on June 17 off the French port of St. Nazaire. Then he caught a whiff of the telltale smell of explosives. Chapter 5 focuses on the actual sinking of the Lancastria while Chapter 11 focuses on its aftermath. 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. Heres how to join! Empire Morn killed 26th April 1943 after his ship hit a mine. As it grew lighter, he could see corpses floating around each lifeboat. 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. World War II: The tanker (2,454 GRT, 1888) was sunk as a block ship at Dieppe, France. And when he arrived back on British soil, everything seemed to have a dream-like quality. The cargo ship (1,435 GRT, 1903) ran aground at, World War II: The fishing vessel (96 GRT) was bombed and sunk in the North Sea (. Contributed on: 30 March 2004. If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us. We said: If you want them, theyre 600 miles out at the bottom of the Atlantic! he recalls. Hold No. List of shipwrecks: 10 June 1940 Ship Country Description, Msd Pro Billet Distributor Wiring Diagram. To order a copy for 16.99 (incl p&p), call 0843 382 0000. I knew that if I fell asleep, Id die. Families of men from both ships have attended an annual maritime commemmoration . Row 1. Refitted in 1924 for two classes and renamed Lancastria, she travelled the route from Liverpool to New York and back, but in 1932 was reassigned to cruise in the Mediterranean and through northern European waters. There, he attended a local school until it was evacuated to Cornwall. 2012 Sean Longden. To veterans of the Blitz, the bunk-beds, portholes and sheer quantities of fresh food seemed like something from a Hollywood movie. She was converted to a troopship in 1940, and was used to transport the British Expeditionary Force to Norway following the German Invasion. 1 June [ edit] 2 June [ edit] 3 June [ edit] 4 June [ edit] 5 June [ edit] 6 June [ edit] 7 June [ edit] 8 June [ edit] World War II: Operation Dynamo: The fishing vessel (39 GRT) was sunk in the North Sea at Dunkerque, France, by enemy action. A young man on another boat descended into madness, screaming and threatening his fellow passengers. She was carrying between 800 and 1,200 people, mainly refugees, and most were lost when her ammunition cargo exploded. An elderly nurse beckoned him to her side, so he switched places. 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. World War II: The cargo ship (1,525 GRT, 1920) was scuttled as a blockship at Dieppe, France. For any other comments, please Contact Us. World War II: The cargo ship (2,975 GRT, 1906) struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Pantelleria. She was later salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. 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. His spirits lifted as he spotted a light but it was only the conning tower of the U-boat, which had surfaced to check out the scene. The unusual disaster continues to evoke controversy, and even questioning in Parliament, decades later. Another day nearer America! he remembers thinking. Colin was still trying to comfort his neighbour until a man told him she was dead. This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 08:28. 1,596 Royal Navy and Air Force personnel died, many freezing to death awaiting rescue. This feat accomplished, the Glorious was to sail back to the UK with fellow carrier Ark Royal for mutual protection. Palm Springs residents sue to remove 25-foot Marilyn Monroe statue depicting her iconic My Daily Horoscope: What does 2nd March hold for MY star sign? 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. Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart Attack entries for Alexia If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us. 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. Empress of Ireland: Directed by Stephan Parent. And the cowboys eating around campfires.. Ships Sunk or Damaged in World War II Every type of ship is here, warships, submarines, MTBs, tankers, cargo, passenger, troopships and so on, totalling over 3,000. She once described him affectionately as a big child. As a precaution, his mother had sewn a life-jacket into the lining, which in turn had been stuffed with silky kapok fibre to provide extra insulation. Some families, such as the Grimmonds from Brixton, South London, faced an almost unimaginable loss: five of their children Violet, Connie, Lennie, Eddie and Gussie had perished. The other ten or so whod been with them had drowned. Scharnhorst limped home, listing at five degrees, and would spend the next six months in Trondheim, Norway undergoing repairs. Captain Sharp estimated 5,500, but one Royal Engineer officer was told that there were more than 7,200 persons aboard. 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. Because of the losses of the other requisitioned transports, Captain Sharp postulated, based on the figure of 2,653 men he had rescued during Operation Alphabet that his ship could accommodate 3,000 persons. As the night progressed, body temperatures began to fall. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. In return, battleships almost never succeeded in closing into gun-range of carriers. Merchant ship movement card (catalogue reference: BT 389) In the top left corner of the record is the ship's name. Late 1940, two Welsh Brothers Kenneth James Lewis and Raymond Leslie Lewis walked aboard their first ship, the Cardiff registered cargo ship SS Fiscus, 4 . 8 was the first to be lowered. 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. 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. as the source. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. She looked at me and said: What have you done with all your clothes? he says. Many survivors perished from hypothermia or suffocated on fuel oil. Oxford University-trained historian and author of more than a dozen books Jonathan Fenby stated that 1,738 perished (Fenby 2005, p. 247), but as there are no official figures published, there are great discrepancies in the numbers calculated by a variety of authors, and other estimates range from 2,000 to 9,000. The Story Of Child Evacuee Beryl Myatt And The Sinking Of The SS City Of Benares In the summer of 1940, faced with the threat of Nazi German invasion, the British government sponsored a scheme to evacuate children to overseas countries. World War II: The cargo ship (7,886 GRT, 1938) was scuttled at Gibraltar to prevent capture by British forces. 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. 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