rms laconia sharks

Hartenstein broadcast a message in English informing all shipping in the area that he had picked up survivors of the sunken ship. The Laconia incident is one of the great forgotten stories of the Second World War. The vessel immediately took a list to starboard and settled heavily by the stern.

The ship was carrying 2,732 crew, prisoners of war, passengers and soldiers.It was built in 1921 as a civilian ocean liner and was requisitioned to help with the war effort. When war broke out, the ship was commandeered by the British Government for use as a troopship and fitted with eight six-inch guns.

"To speed up the rescue operation, he ordered three more U-boats to speed to Hartenstein’s aid. The blood attracted sharks, who started a feeding frenzy.Once the Laconia had gone down, the captain of the enemy submarine Korvettenkapitan Werner Hartstein commenced rescue operations.

It also showed that sometimes the good guys are guilty of doing evil things. Only one life raft left the ship with any on board.

268 British soldiers and 1,800 Italian prisoners of war with 160 Polish soldiers guarding them. Captain Rudolph Sharp, who had also commanded another Cunard liner, RMS Lancastriawhen she was sunk by enemy action, was gaining control over the situation when a second to… When news of the subsequent US attack reached Admiral Donitz, the commander of the Third Riech's formidable submarine fleet, he issued what became known as the Laconia Order - specifically forbidding the rescue of any survivors from subsequent U-boat attacks. By this time, the ship's stern deck was awash.

The Italian POWs were left locked in the cargo hold as the Laconia went down. Abstract.

Only one life raft left the ship with any on board. On the evening of the 12th the ship was some 130 miles (210km) north of Ascension Island when she was spotted by the German submarine U-156.Two torpedos were fired, both finding their targets and sinking the Laconia within an hour of the first explosion. Serving first as an armed merchant cruiser before being converted to a troop ship.In September 1942 she departed from Cape Town setting a evasive zig-zagging course for Sierra Leone's Freetown, her cargo; 463 officers and crew, U-boat command in Germany was contacted and several more submarines were dispatched to the scene, all flying the flag of the Red Cross.

By January 1940 she had been fitted with eight six-inch guns and two three-inch high-angle guns. He ordered Donitz to send the boats back to Cape Town as per the original plan.U-156 picked up nearly 200 survivors and had another 200 in tow in four lifeboats. A radio message was also dispatched informing the Allies of the incident and asking for help.The next morning an American B-24 Liberator, apparently unaware of the message, spotted the rescue efforts and several hours later was ordered by commanders on Ascension to bomb the U-boats.Despite her decks being crammed with almost 200 survivors including women and children, flying the flag of the Red Cross, and radioing the aircraft's crew for help, U-156 was repeatedly attacked with a combination of bombs and depth charges.Left with little option the German submarines' commanders ordered their boats to dive, casting those who thought they'd found salvation back into the mercy of the shark-filled seas.

It was torpedoed by a Nazi U-boat (U-156) commanded by But not all of the work was done by the Nazis. Flying the Red Cross flag, U-506 (Erich Wurdeman) and U-507 (Harro Schacht) arrived two days later, just around noon of September 15. The Admiral then told his superiors in Berlin about the situation, which enraged Adolph Hitler. Several other German U-boats joined in the rescue efforts.Incredibly, seven of those U-boats were diverted by Admiral Donitz from a planned surprise attack on Cape Town.

To their surprise, the Germans saw over two thousand people struggling in the water. According to Italian survivors, many of the POWs were left locked in the holds, and those who escaped and tried to board lifeboats and liferafts were shot or bayoneted by British and Polish soldiers.Amongst the French ships involved in the rescue were

He did not say if he participated in this but he at least witnessed it. On the 12th September the German U boat U-156 torpedoed a passenger ship off the coast of Africa. Grabbing an arm, biting a leg.

However, the British in Freetown did not believe him and feared it was a trick.The submarine remained on the surface for the next two days and was joined by three others. The RMS Laconia was a civilian ocean liner built in 1921 as a successor of the 1911-1917 Laconia. It backfired as evidence was produced showing the Allies had acted callously in much the same circumstances and that the Americans had practiced similar tactics from the start of the war.Far from confirming the cold, black hearts of the Nazis, the Laconia Incident exposed the humane side of German commanders. Some were bayoneted to death by their Polish guards, who carried rifles with fixed bayonets but no ammunition.The situation for the POW’s did not improve even if they managed to escape from the hold.

The Laconia Incident changed the way Germany treated prisoners of war and was even brought up at the Nuremberg Trials. When war broke out, the ship was commandeered by the British Government for use as a troopship and fitted with eight six-inch guns.

Their callous commanders ordered them to attack anyway.The B-24 pilot carried out his orders and killed dozens of the survivors with bombs and by conducting strafing attacks. On 12 September 1942, at 8:10 pm, 130 miles (210 km) north-northeast of Ascension Island, Laconia was hit on the starboard side by a torpedo fired by U-boat U-156.

— Corporal Dino Monte POW.

Dramatisation of the true story of the sinking of the liner Laconia by a German U-boat in 1942 through the eyes of six survivors. However, in response to the incident, Donitz issued an order forbidding U-boats from rescuing survivors.After the war at the Nuremberg Trials, Donitz was indicted for war crimes including issuing the Laconia order.

Once the Laconia had gone down, the captain of the enemy submarine Korvettenkapitan Werner Hartstein commenced rescue operations.