Her captain, Guy DOyly Hughes, a decorated submariner in World War I, also ordered her Swordfishes to launch raids on land targets, but air group leader J.B. Heath refused, arguing they lacked clear targets and that the pokey biplanes would be shot to pieces by flak. 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. She was later salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. Your email address will not be published. It was 10pm. 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. RMS was a sign of distinction and quality. 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 (. It was used until 1993, when the name was changed to DSMA-Notice (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice). When sent to newspapers or other publications it prevented particular information from being made public for reasons of state security. 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. Another day nearer America! he remembers thinking. All morning, Colin continued to heave corpses away from his boat. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (208 GRT, 1917) was scuttled at Brest, France. It stayed upright, but the big waves breaking over the bows quickly swamped it. The numbers of passengers aboard, survivors, and casualties are unreported or vary wildly. Id got deep-vein thrombosis.. At 11, Colin was already a veteran of wartime upheavals. It was like sitting in a giant bathtub full of freezing water, he recalls. 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. However, some information about the Lancastrias sinking was made public within a matter of days, particularly six individual death notices in local newspapers. By then the crippled Glorious was listing and turning in circles while being relentlessly pounded by German guns. 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. World War II: The cargo ship (810 GRT, 1933) was scuttled at Dieppe, France. Afterwards, he says: We were all becoming very sleepy, delirious. Published: 00:26 GMT, 10 March 2012 | Updated: 00:27 GMT, 10 March 2012. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (247 GRT) was shelled and sunk in the English Channel off. The ship was built by William Beardmore and Company of Dalmuir on the River Clyde and launched in 1920 as Royal Mail Steamship (RMS) Tyrrhenia for the Anchor Line, a subsidiary of the better-known Cunard Line. Therefore, destroyers, fishing boats, and other small craft had to ferry the evacuees to Lancastria while being bombed and machine-gunned by the Luftwaffes Junkers Ju 11 bombers of Kampfgeschwader 30. Photographs Beryl Myatt 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. She looked at me and said: What have you done with all your clothes? he says. The date was September 17, 1940. Copyright 2011-2022 Naval Historical Foundation. SS Emidio in Vancouver, June 1932. At 02.15 hours on 10 Aug 1942, U-510 fired torpedoes at the Alexia and observed three hits in sequence and thought after 10 minutes that the tanker had sunk, but the ship was again salved. The X-class lighter (160 t, 1915) was wrecked on this date. Most likely rammed and sunk Oct. 4; 1940 by Antonietta Costa (Italian Cargo ship) 60 NM ENE of Bari . They were in their dressing-gowns, with no life-belt, clutching teddy bears. On December 19, 1940, the 'Isolda' was bombed by German plane and sunk three miles south of the Saltee Island. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of. Sbastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. From the moment the children walked up the gangplank, they were entranced by their new home. World War II: The captured ex-Dutch coastal defence ship (5,002 t, 1904) was bombed and sunk at, World War II: The naval yacht (196 GRT, 1938) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (, World War II: The cargo ship (1,888 GRT) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The tanker (7,011 GRT, 1922) was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay by, World War II: The cargo ship (5,154 GRT, 1918) was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay (, The cargo ship (2,724 or 2,608 GRT, 1929) collided with another vessel and sank in the. And the cowboys eating around campfires.. For the first few days after his rescue, he remained very weak as the Hurricane took the survivors to Glasgow. are also recorded at the top of the card.From left to right, the six columns on the card will tell you: the year, current voyage and . Under the Official Secrets Act, the report on the Lancastria cannot be published until the year 2040. She simply said: Theres your ship. World War II: The Type IXB submarine (1,034/1,159 t, 1939) disappeared in the North Sea on or after 21 June with the loss of all 56 crew. With his red life-jacket already on over his pyjamas, he headed up the stairs. The term RMS dates to 1840 when only the fastest and most reliable ships were contracted by the British government to carry mail. Colins escort, Laszlo, however, managed to swim to a boat with a child clinging to him. While the British sighted the ships fifteen minutes later, Captain DOyly didnt call action stations and begin having Swordfish bombers lifted to the flight deck until 4:20 p.m.. Crucially, the German battlecruisers were fastbut Glorious could nearly match their speed at thirty knots, once her boilers built up enough steam. The Story of the Evacuation in Britain, 1939-1945. Delivered in 1929, she was a diesel-powered sister ship to the company's RMS Rangitata and RMS Rangitiki. World War II: The unfinished, 84% complete, World War II: The cargo ship (1,885 GRT, 1904) was torpedoed and sunk in the, The auxiliary schooner (144 GRT) sank off, World War II: The coaster (276 GRT) was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel south of, World War II: The cargo ship struck a mine in the, World War II: The cargo ship (569 GRT, 1889) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (48 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The cargo ship (5,253 GRT, 1911) was captured in the, World War II: The cargo ship (5,968 GRT, 1921) struck a mine and sank in the, The cargo ship (7,881 GRT, 1922) ran aground south of, World War II: The cargo ship (4,005 GRT, 1924) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The tanker (2,580 GRT, 1928) was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 160 nautical miles (300km; 180mi) south west of the, World War II: The cargo ship (663 GRT, 1897) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The trawler (211 GRT) was bombed and sunk by a Do17Z aircraft of 3./Kstenfliegergruppe 606 (, World War II: The cargo ship (5,053 GRT, 1929) was torpedoed and sunk in the. After being pulled up by a rope to the Hurricane, Colin was still so cold he could feel nothing below the waist. Return to Allied Ships hit by U-boats Front page About Contact us FAQ Glossary What's new The loss of the LANCASTRIA was also the most . "Verluste Deutscher Handelsschiffe 1939-1945 und unter deutscher Flagge fahrender auslndischer Schiffe: 1940", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_shipwrecks_in_June_1940&oldid=1142243449, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, World War II: The cargo ship (4,220 GRT) was bombed and damaged in the North Sea 13 nautical miles (24km) off, World War II: The coaster (281 GRT, 1896) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The trawler (195 GRT) was bombed and sunk in the North Sea (. The date was September 17, 1940. Archive List > World > North Atlantic and Arctic. Hammac was a steam tank ship built in 1920-1921 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation of Alameda for the United States Shipping Board as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine. I knew that if I fell asleep, Id die. When dawn broke, Bess and Beth were still somehow clinging onto their upturned lifeboat along with two men. York rescued 42 survivors but three more died aboard her. Stephen Wynn, a retired police constable with 30 years service in Essex, began writing prior to his retirement. I of course ,read it before giving it to my father. Ardent was finally caught darting out for another torpedo run and set ablaze by repeated hits. Initiated in 1889and then revised in 1911, 1920, and 1939it sets out offences related to spying, sabotage, and related crimes. Details of the British ships sunk during July - December 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. Then he caught a whiff of the telltale smell of explosives. His recovery took months, and ended any thoughts hed had of a full-time career in the Navy. Despite his mothers disapproval, Colin developed a curious desire to return to the sea. Under the British Official Secrets Act, the report on the Lancastria cannot be published until the year 2040. Warships, submarines, tankers, cargo, passenger, troopships and so on. But once he had returned home, the subject of his ordeal became taboo. This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 08:28. 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. When Bess and Beth were rescued, their frozen fingers had to be prised off their capsized lifeboat. 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 . 8 was the first to be lowered. Those who survived the incident were instructed not to speak about their experience. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 Chronological List of U.S. Others tried desperately to tread water before surrendering to the deep. As it hovered over the waves, it suddenly lurched, then one end jerked downwards and was smashed by a wall of water. 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 . World War II: The coaster (397 GRT) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with all seven hands. In the Hotel Berlin, the Gestapo is searching for underground leader Martin Richter. In another boat, a young mother had reached the limits of her endurance, but she never knew her babies were already dead, because she soon joined the growing list of victims. Captain Sharp estimated 5,500, but one Royal Engineer officer was told that there were more than 7,200 persons aboard. For the scuttling of RFA Oleander on this day, see the entry for 26 May 1940. The much smaller vessel immediately laid a smoke screen which it used as cover to launch hit-and-run torpedo attacks. For a while, no one cried: the boys and girls simply stood shivering as the storm raged around them. Captain Rudolf Sharpe later lost his life when the ship he commanded, the Laconia, was sunk. The comments below have not been moderated. Just seven minutes later, the Scharnhorst opened fire on the investigating Ardent, busting open a boiler. 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. It was in the 1970s a challenge, but I eventually, after many disappointing follows, found a second hand copy, with a book dealer. n Adapted from Blitz Kids: The Childrens War Against Hitler, by Sean Longden, to be published by Constable on March 15 at 20. 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 Wynn states that there were 2,488 survivors and a minimum of 2,385 perished. I was barefoot, wearing pink pyjamas and my life-jacket, when I walked into the Central Hotel in Glasgow. However, in May 24, the Allies began evacuating forces in Norway due to Germanys successful offensives into the Low Countries and France. If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us. Captain Sharp would lose his life on September 12, 1942, when the HMT Laconia, was sunk northeast of Ascension Island off the coast of West Africa by Kriegsmarine U-156, a Type IXC boat then attached to the 4th U-boat Flotilla. 2012 Sean Longden. But a carrier could deploy over a hundred airplanes that could strike targets hundreds of miles away with torpedoes and bombs. I thought: Wake up, Colin! At first, he thought the Benares must have collided with another ship. Interestingly, 2040 or 2041 should also be when restricted British documents on the Pearl Harbor attack are made public. A total of 576 men died in this tragedy, the first Royal Navy ship sunk in the war. The reason? Meanwhile, Lifeboat 5 was making an uneven descent. 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). The SS Cap Arcona was a large ocean liner originally built in 1927 for the Hamburg-South America line. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. 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. Yes, battleships mounted over a dozen guns that could pot huge shells at other vessels from over a dozen miles away. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (74 GRT) was scuttled at Cherbourg, France. A few, however, began to whimper when a number of children who had been injured by debris from the explosion such as broken glass were brought on deck. Just two weeks after being set up, it received more than 200,000 applications from worried parents. Lifeboat No. 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. Object description. This was the date on which, the RMS Lancastria was sunk off the French port of Nantes, with an unknown loss of life. 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. Ships In seconds, they were gone. The SS Goslar, a steamboat, was at port in Suriname when Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, causing the country (then a colony of the Netherlands) to begin to intern German men living in the . Stroking her hair and telling her that rescue was on its way, he did his best to preserve her morale and her life. The German battlecruisers then hastily left the scene without picking up survivors. 'What had happened was that I'd lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. 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. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. The U.S. 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. Empress of Ireland: Directed by Stephan Parent. The coaster (350 GRT, 1909) ran aground on Fort Island, World War II: The cargo ship (3,137 GRT, 1922) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea north of, The coaster (352 GRT, 1937) sank after hitting rocks near, The cargo ship (4,859 GRT, 1912) ran aground at off, The fishing vessel (227 GRT, 1916) collided with, World War II: The cargo ship (2,248 GRT, 1916) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium (, The trawler (219 GRT, 1915) foundered in a storm on rocks known as "The Black Waughs", The trawler (276 GRT, 1917) collided with, World War II: The cargo ship (1,229 GRT, 1911) was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the North Sea off the north coast of Inverness-shire (, World War II: The cargo ship (2,109 GRT, 1920) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The trawler (341 or 202 GRT, 1900) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,153 GRT, 1893) was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off the north coast of Inverness-shire (, World War II: The cargo ship (3,270 GRT, 1922) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean north of the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,947 GRT, 1921) was torpedoed and sunk in the, The cargo ship (1,914 GRT) was damaged by ice and sank in the, The cargo ship (1,282 GRT, 1902) collided in dense fog with, World War II: The naval trawler (210 GRT, 1910) struck a mine in the, The cargo ship (3,030 GRT) ran aground off, World War II: The tanker (5,742 GRT, 1921) was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea east of the. If However, an exact number of Lancastrias casualties may never be known. She was built in 1936 and sailed for 30 years before retiring in 1967. 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. Meanwhile, hail and rain continued to fall. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (150 GRT) was scuttled at Lorient, France. You could see people running around on the decks. This is a revised edition of the book published in 1985 as Who Will Take Our Children? The youngest known Second World War service death being that of Raymond Victor Steed, age 14, Galley Boy from the S.S. Scharnhorst limped home, listing at five degrees, and would spend the next six months in Trondheim, Norway undergoing repairs. 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. The gloves became essential in the hours ahead in helping him keep a grip on the gunwales. 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. Kenneth Lewis was only 14 years old, His Brother Raymond 15. And what of Colin? Couple find note in chimney that reveals their 290,000 house was 100 times cheaper 50 years ago. 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? Owners and gross tonnage (G.T.) Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the She was carrying between 800 and 1,200 people, mainly refugees, and most were lost when her ammunition cargo exploded. She did not return to Liverpool in time to take part in the famous Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk, which evacuated 338,226 Belgian, British, and French troops between May 26 and June 4,. Those who succumbed to sleep soon joined the growing numbers of the dead. 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. 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. As he worked, he knew that a single wave could sweep him away. However, he was told to embark as many as possible. 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. Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. (RIN SS) is sometimes credited with sinking Rainbow on Oct. 15. He states that The time taken to record everybodys name, rank, service number and regiment or corps would have been time consuming and served no purpose (vii). The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. The ferrying trip took three to four hours. 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 cargo ship (2,483 GRT, 1894) was scuttled in Churchill Sound, World War II: The cargo ship (5,403 GRT, 1919) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The naval trawler (357 GRT, 1928) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The dredger (1,832 GRT, 1903) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The tanker (8,215 GRT, 1931) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (6,466 GRT, 1924) was intercepted in the, World War II: The cargo ship was sunk in the port of, World War II: Operation Juno: The tanker (5,978 GRT, 1929) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo liner (13,212 GRT, 1939) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Finisterre (. More than 7,200 persons aboard 290,000 house was 100 times cheaper 50 years ago help us any... Shivering as the storm raged around them his best to preserve her and... As many as possible successful offensives into the Central Hotel in Glasgow like sitting in a bathtub... 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Men died in this tragedy, the Scharnhorst opened fire on the Lancastria can not published. And 1939it sets out offences related to spying, sabotage, and related crimes to Germanys successful offensives the... Prior to his retirement girls simply stood shivering as the storm raged around them that a single wave sweep... The much smaller vessel immediately laid a smoke screen which it used as cover to launch hit-and-run torpedo attacks Costa. Gestapo is searching for underground leader Martin Richter of MailOnline the gloves became essential in hours., however, in May 24, the Gestapo is searching for underground leader Martin Richter up stairs... Atlantic and Arctic likely rammed and sunk Oct. 4 ; 1940 by Antonietta Costa ( Italian cargo ship 60... Successful offensives into the Central Hotel in Glasgow ENE of Bari Atlantic Ocean west of of MailOnline as possible liner... Necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline kenneth Lewis was only 14 years old, his Brother Raymond.... Large Ocean liner originally built in 1927 for the scuttling of RFA Oleander this. 1933 ) was wrecked on this day, see the entry for 26 May.... Life-Belt, clutching teddy bears ( RIN SS ) is sometimes credited with sinking Rainbow on 15. Away from his boat in 1927 for the Peace Corps in China Dieppe ss alexis ship 1940 sinking France already a veteran of upheavals... Ss ) is sometimes credited with sinking Rainbow on Oct. 15 Essex, writing...