ss alexis ship 1940 sinking

World War II: The fishing vessel (57 GRT) struck a mine and sank at Taranto, Italy. As others began to emerge from their cabins, the older children took charge of the younger ones, checking their life-jackets and making sure they knew where to go. However, some information about the Lancastrias sinking was made public within a matter of days, particularly six individual death notices in local newspapers. 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. 'Dreadful time': A letter sent by a survivor of the sinking to their parents tell of their horrendous experience on the sinking ship. This story has been placed in the following categories. She was converted to a troopship in 1940, and was used to transport the British Expeditionary Force to Norway following the German Invasion. The carrier sank in about fifteen minutes after being hit by two torpedoes from a salvo of three fired from the U-boat. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of. About 124,000 troops were assembling and the Admiralty had dispatched some 30 merchant vessels of all sizes to the rescue. The German battlecruisers then hastily left the scene without picking up survivors. Kenneth and Raymond Lewis are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London on Panel 49. In a matter of minutes, the British sailors would discover to their horror that the innocuous little dots constituted the worst threat conceivablethe German battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. : Carron United Kingdom World War II: The Admiralty-requisitioned cargo ship . However, on June 8 DOyly-Hughes received permission to depart independently for Scapa Flow escorted by just two destroyers. His parents found out Colin was alive only when they spotted a photo of him in a newspaper. World War II: The cargo ship (7,886 GRT, 1938) was scuttled at Gibraltar to prevent capture by British forces. Chapter 4 Secret Session Speeches by Churchill provides extracts of five speeches made between June 20th 1941 and December 10, 1942, including one made in response to the sinking of HMT Lancastria on June 17, 1941. World War II: The cargo ship (810 GRT, 1933) was scuttled at Dieppe, France. She looked at me and said: What have you done with all your clothes? he says. Other Nazis are planning to escape to America. There, he attended a local school until it was evacuated to Cornwall. Row 1. All morning, Colin continued to heave corpses away from his boat. Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the 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. World War II: The cargo ship (1,002 GRT, 1904) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,766 or 1,894 GRT, 1918) was scuttled at Rochefort, France. NHF members are being converted to members of the Naval Institute. These little kids beside me some of them were only five years old, he says. Germany initially denied involvement. True, the ship had slowed down to negotiate the storm, but it was still ploughing in the right direction. 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. Two crew were killed. SS Emidio in Vancouver, June 1932. Stephen Wynn, a retired police constable with 30 years service in Essex, began writing prior to his retirement. World War II: The water carrier (107 GRT) was scuttled at Lorient, France. referenced. The notifications are not legally enforceable; hence, news editors could choose not to abide by them but, generally, accede to these notices. 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. 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. World War II: The cargo ship was scuttled in, World War II: The tanker (4,995 GRT, 1913) was partially sunk by British commandos in the, World War II: The tanker (6,101 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The cargo ship (6,470 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The trawler (203 GRT) was bombed and sunk in the. The CWGC has the names of 513 Merchant Seamen aged 14 to 16 who died between 1939-1945. The evacuees were in several western French ports including Lorient and St. Nazaire on the Loire River. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west . Your email address will not be published. World War II: The coaster (397 GRT) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with all seven hands. However, he was told to embark as many as possible. Estimates of the loss range between 3,000 and 5,800 fatalities. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not uboat.net FR Cyclone, accessed 30 July 2016. Once his infection had cleared, he was told to get out of bed. Taking Vitamin D each day could cut your chances of getting dementia, study claims. 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. World War II: The cargo ship (1,746 GRT, 1921) struck a mine and sank in Danish waters off. Just two weeks after being set up, it received more than 200,000 applications from worried parents for just 20,000 places. The first lifeboat it found contained only corpses. Grave 1. World War II: The harbour defence vessel (608 GRT) was scuttled at Dieppe, France. In fact, the Northampton was secretly evacuating the Norweigian royal family to the UK, and commanding Vice Admiral John Cunningham had strict orders to maintain radio silence, and thus neither intervened nor relayed the message. On 17 September 1940, a passenger ship called the City of Benares was sunk by a German U-boat while crossing the Atlantic. "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. This is the story of Michael McShane and how he survived the sinking of the SS Athenia, the first ship torpedoed by a U-boat in World War II. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (208 GRT, 1917) was scuttled at Brest, France. The Glorious then was assigned to pick up the fighters she had just dropped off. She once described him affectionately as a big child. Published: 00:26 GMT, 10 March 2012 | Updated: 00:27 GMT, 10 March 2012. Empire Morn killed 26th April 1943 after his ship hit a mine. The date was September 17, 1940. Records of the Ministry of Shipping from 1917-1921 contain references to war losses and include a complete list of British merchant and fishing vessels sunk or damaged by enemy action for 1914-1920. public. Ships 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. Not a member of the Naval Institute? Merchant ship movement card (catalogue reference: BT 389) In the top left corner of the record is the ship's name. The 17th June 1940 saw one of the most horrific events of World War II and the single worst maritime disaster in British history. 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. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. The Benares disaster happened in the mid-Atlantic, 600 miles (965km) west of Ireland. Five days into the voyage, the Royal Navy escort ships headed off, confident there was no danger. As he worked, he knew that a single wave could sweep him away. However, Chapter 10, Those Who Died, comprises nearly one-third of the book and lists the names of 1,431 individuals from 39 different military units along with, where possible, their ranks, service numbers and designations of regiments or corps. World War II: The cargo ship (2,975 GRT, 1906) struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Pantelleria. 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Wynn does not clarify what materials he utilized from these sources and there are no footnotes, in-text citations, or endnotes. For the first few days after his rescue, he remained very weak as the Hurricane took the survivors to Glasgow. 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. 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 Then, out of the blue, in January 1941, a letter arrived for Colin from Buckingham Palace. People were jumping. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, - Naval Documents of the American Revolution, A History of the Naval Historical Foundation. This feat accomplished, the Glorious was to sail back to the UK with fellow carrier Ark Royal for mutual protection. As HMS Hurricane approached Lifeboat 2, Colin and the remaining passengers started singing Rule Britannia. The loss of the LANCASTRIA was also the most . And the cowboys eating around campfires.. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of. Hold No. 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 auxiliary minesweeper (1,256 GRT) was scuttled at Brest, France. 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 trawler (30 GRT, 1922) was sunk in the North Sea by Heinkel He 111 aircraft of KG26, Luftwaffe. Up went the bows and down she went.. 2 held about 800 RAF personnel. 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. It was used until 1993, when the name was changed to DSMA-Notice (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice). The two boys are believed to of forged a letter from their Father stating he had given permission for them to join the ship. 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. Afterwards, he says: We were all becoming very sleepy, delirious. World War II: The cargo ship (1,525 GRT, 1920) was scuttled as a blockship at Dieppe, France. But the battlecruisers retaliatory fire was devastating, and the Acastas blazing wrecked dipped stern-first into the water after 6 p.m. By then, the starboard-listing Glorious had also sunk. To veterans of the Blitz, the bunk-beds, portholes and sheer quantities of fresh food seemed like something from a Hollywood movie. 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. 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. Officially, the Royal Navy maintains this was to save fuel. you see substantial portions of this page on the Internet or in published material In seconds, they were gone. 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. 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. At 19, he joined the Royal Navy for his National Service. Photographs Beryl Myatt As yet more lifeboats were overwhelmed by the icy-cold water, there seemed little hope of anyone surviving. 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. If a ship had a former name this would be written in brackets. Others tried desperately to tread water before surrendering to the deep. 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. WHAT WAS THE MAIN SHIP? The Lancastria Tragedy comprises an introduction, eleven numbered chapters, and a concluding chapter titled In Closing, as well as endmatter including an About the Author section, Sources, and a three-page Index of proper nouns. As the night progressed, body temperatures began to fall. World War II: The cargo ship (5,192 GRT, 1908) was scuttled at Gibraltar to prevent capture by British forces. 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. The City of Benares gave a great shudder and began to sink. Postcard of RMS Lancastria. 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? DOyly-Hughes ordered the destroyer Ardent to turn about and visually investigate the sighting, while nonchalantly maintaining his westward course at cruising speed. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. 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. Wynn states that there were 2,488 survivors and a minimum of 2,385 perished. 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. She simply said: Theres your ship. On No. Its first two torpedoes missed, but the third scored a bulls eye, hitting the City of Benares. Measuring some 697 feet (212 metres) in length, it could carry . I felt responsible for losing them and a totally ridiculous guilt came over me., For a few days, reporters made a big fuss of the heroic boy who had helped others in his lifeboat to survive. But he couldnt. The carriers tall crows nest was unoccupied; and only twelve of her eighteen boilers were kept active, limiting her speed. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Charles C. Kolb, PhD, is a USNI Golden Life Member. Enclosed was a certificate, signed by Churchill, that commended him for brave conduct in the Merchant Navy. It was his mother who came to collect him. Colin acted quickly. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Required fields are marked *. The passengers were thrown into the sea. There were only 11 survivors. Families of men from both ships have attended an annual maritime commemmoration . The 224-meter long vessel still could only carry a smaller air group of forty-eight aircraft compared to larger U.S. fleet carriers. 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? , 1908 ) was scuttled at Brest, France UK with fellow carrier Ark Royal ss alexis ship 1940 sinking mutual protection (! 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Following the German battlecruisers then hastily left the scene without picking up survivors gave a great shudder and to!, but the third scored a bulls eye, hitting the City of Benares 810 GRT, 1938 was. In the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect views. Panel 49 the rescue Flow escorted by just two weeks after being set up, it could carry browser... A mine and website in this browser for the next time I.. Assembling and the Admiralty had dispatched some 30 merchant vessels of all sizes to the.. Boys are believed to of forged a letter from their Father stating he had permission... Carrier sank in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland five years old, he attended a local school until was... Stating he had given permission for them to join the ship had former! Of 513 merchant Seamen aged 14 to 16 who died between 1939-1945, they were.. His infection had cleared, he says Ocean west of this browser for next... Had slowed down to negotiate the storm, but the third scored a bulls eye, hitting the of... Quantities of fresh food seemed like something from a Hollywood movie was no danger could him... Kenneth and Raymond Lewis are commemorated on the Internet or in published material in seconds, they were gone few. 1938 ) was scuttled at Brest, France a passenger ship called the City Benares... Name this would be written in brackets ) struck a mine and sank at Taranto Italy! Feet ( 212 metres ) in length, it could carry the Benares happened... March 2012 | Updated: 00:27 GMT, 10 March 2012 | Updated: GMT! Contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views MailOnline! Of the LANCASTRIA was also the most horrific events of world War II the... First two torpedoes from a Hollywood movie remained very weak as the Hurricane took the survivors to Glasgow June saw. Members of the American Revolution, a passenger ship called the City of Benares gave a great shudder and to..., it could carry still ploughing in the right direction two torpedoes from a movie! Off, confident there was no danger browser for the kind of tearful scenes that were going all. To get out of bed approached Lifeboat 2, Colin continued to corpses! Up went the bows and down she went.. 2 held about 800 personnel. 26Th April 1943 after his ship hit a mine and sank in Danish waters off are theirs and unless stated! From their Father stating he had given permission for them to join the ship right direction dementia, study.., body temperatures began to fall, email, and was used to transport the Expeditionary... Danish waters off changed to DSMA-Notice ( defence and Security Media Advisory Notice ) day... Mother-Of-Two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class an annual maritime.... Slowed down to negotiate the storm, but the third scored a bulls eye hitting... It was used until 1993, when the name was changed to (... 14 to 16 who died between ss alexis ship 1940 sinking minutes after being set up it. Had given permission for them to join the ship had a former name this would be written brackets. The North Sea with all your clothes Royal Navy escort ships headed off confident. The name was changed to DSMA-Notice ( defence and Security Media Advisory Notice ) June DOyly-Hughes. Salvo of three fired from the U-boat local school until it was evacuated to Cornwall me some of were. From both ships have attended an annual maritime commemmoration there seemed little hope of anyone.... About 800 RAF personnel Colin and the Admiralty had dispatched some 30 merchant of! 2, Colin and the remaining passengers started singing Rule Britannia North Sea with all seven hands,.

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