ss alexis ship 1940 sinking

The survivors were now completely alone in the dark. List of shipwrecks: 3 March 1940 Ship Country Description Arucas Germany World War II: The passenger ship (3,369 GRT, 1927) was intercepted in the Atlantic Ocean east of Iceland by HMS York ( Royal Navy) and was scuttled by herTen crew members were lost at sea. Enough was enough, his parents decided, as the bombs began to fall. Of the 38 people in his boat, only 14 remained. 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. World War II: The cargo ship (3,404 GRT, 1927) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The coaster (253 GRT) struck a mine and sank at, World War II: The auxiliary sloop (1,049 GRT, 1923) was shelled and sunk in the English Channel between, World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (197 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (511 GRT) was shelled and sunk in the English Channel between Fcamp and, World War II: The collier (4,690 GRT, 1853) was bombed and sunk at, World War II: The coaster (264 GRT, 1914) was beached and abandoned in the, World War II: The trawler struck a mine and sank at, World War II: The tanker (8,030 GRT, 1928) was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off, World War II: The coaster (198 GRT, 1929) struck a mine and sank in, World War II: The naval trawler (326 GRT, 1928) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The coaster (209 GRT, 1928) was beached and abandoned in the River Seine in Paris, France. I knew that if I fell asleep, Id die. However, an exact number of Lancastrias casualties may never be known. World War II: The cargo ship (7,886 GRT, 1938) was scuttled at Gibraltar to prevent capture by British forces. Never take this off, she warned him. Five days into the voyage, the Royal Navy escort ships headed off, confident there was no danger. The ferrying trip took three to four hours. Sold for scrap in August 1954 at Blyth. Row 1. What had happened was that Id lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. WHAT WAS THE MAIN SHIP? By then Glorious had transmitted a distress message which was picked up by the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire thirty to fifty miles away. For any other comments, please Contact Us. 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. 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. However, on June 8 DOyly-Hughes received permission to depart independently for Scapa Flow escorted by just two destroyers. The SS Cap Arcona was a large ocean liner originally built in 1927 for the Hamburg-South America line. Its first two torpedoes missed, but the third scored a bulls eye, hitting the City of Benares. Under the command of Captain HL Upton, she . While her smaller 15-centimeter cannons exchanged shots with the Ardent, Scharnhorsts big 11 turrets blazed away at the distant flat-top. However, in May 24, the Allies began evacuating forces in Norway due to Germanys successful offensives into the Low Countries and France. 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. http://www.british-merchant-navy.co.uk/TOWER.htm. 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 . All morning, Colin continued to heave corpses away from his boat. 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. She was later salvaged by the Germans and entered service as. 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. When Bess and Beth were rescued, their frozen fingers had to be prised off their capsized lifeboat. World War II: The water carrier (107 GRT) was scuttled at Lorient, France. World War II: The patrol boat (409 GRT, 1919) was scuttled at Le Verdon, France. They werent the only parents desperate to send their children abroad. Sbastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. Her pointed bow still poked from below a raised flight deck. With his red life-jacket already on over his pyjamas, he headed up the stairs. 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. 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. 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. We said: If you want them, theyre 600 miles out at the bottom of the Atlantic! he recalls. Delivered in 1929, she was a diesel-powered sister ship to the company's RMS Rangitata and RMS Rangitiki. Buried Ben M' Sik European Cemetery, Morocco, Plot 59A. The sinking of HMT Lancastria on June 17, 1940, is an intriguing chapter of naval history in World War II primarily because of the tragic loss of life and how much information pertaining to the event wasand still isclassified. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. There are no actual transcripts of these speeches, but they have been reconstructed from Churchills notes given to Charles Eade. 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. 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. Alexia British Motor tanker The Alexia after conversion to the MAC ship HMS Alexia. Those who succumbed to sleep soon joined the growing numbers of the dead. Merchant ship movement card (catalogue reference: BT 389) In the top left corner of the record is the ship's name. The gloves became essential in the hours ahead in helping him keep a grip on the gunwales. Published: 00:26 GMT, 10 March 2012 | Updated: 00:27 GMT, 10 March 2012. 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. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. It was the first time Id really been able to grieve, he says. World War II: The cargo ship (1,746 GRT, 1921) struck a mine and sank in Danish waters off. Information about the Lancastria sinking might be restricted by the Official Secrets Act. A4103056. referenced. World War II: The cargo ship (7,405 GRT, 1914) was bombed and damaged in the Bay of Biscay off. A history of Tyne shipbuilders and the ships they built", "Norwegian Homefleet - WW II, Ships starting with So through S", Egypt Red Sea Shipwrecks - The Umbria, A Veritable Time Bomb at 30 metres, Ned Middleton, alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (C), "Kriegsverluste Italienischer Handelsschiffe 1940-1943: Verluste Italienischer Handelsschiffe 1940", "British Admiralty War Diary, 11 June 1940", "Naval Events, June 1940, Part 3 of 4, Saturday 15th - Friday 21st", "HNLMS O 13 of the Royal Netherlands Navy", "Naval Events, June 1940, Part 4 of 4, Saturday 22nd - Sunday 30th". He was saved by a fellow passenger, but died minutes later. The auxiliary patrol boat sank off Dunkerque after running in a sandbank during a storm. However, crew members have alleged DOyly-Hughes was in a hurry to attend Heaths court martial. The Benares disaster happened in the mid-Atlantic, 600 miles (965km) west of Ireland. It was used until 1993, when the name was changed to DSMA-Notice (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice). 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 . The SS Andrea Doria was a flagship of the Italian Line. ss alexis ship 1940 sinking. It was there that, suddenly, he began to relive the horrors of the sinking. 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. She was subsequently salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. Colin acted quickly. As HMS Hurricane approached Lifeboat 2, Colin and the remaining passengers started singing Rule Britannia. Many years later, I was asked by my father, Oliver Gleasure (Irish Guards) to find the book, so he could gift it to my uncle. Kenneth and Raymond Lewis are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London on Panel 49. 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,. A2477018. A total of 576 men died in this tragedy, the first Royal Navy ship sunk in the war. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. After the Navy, Colin became a Lloyds underwriter, married first wife, Gill, and adopted a baby of six weeks who grew up to become Changing Rooms presenter Anna Ryder Richardson. Colin was one of 90 children aged five to 15 chosen to travel on the City of Benares. Empress of Ireland: Directed by Stephan Parent. As yet more lifeboats were overwhelmed by the icy-cold water, there seemed little hope of anyone surviving. Aboard one lifeboat, a freezing boy fell unconscious and slipped into the sea. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (464 GRT) was bombed and sunk at Dunkerque, France, by Luftwaffe aircraft. useful bibliography and discussion. World War II: The passenger ship (2,029 GRT, 1930) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The coaster (957 GRT, 1893) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The naval trawler (109 GRT, 1916) was sunk at Scapa Flow in a collision with trawler, The coaster (216 GRT, 1919) was sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,102 GRT, 1931) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (3,857 GRT, 1928) struck a mine in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,463 GRT, 1923) struck a mine and sank in the. "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. She was later salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. World War II: The cargo ship (4,499 GRT) was scuttled at Brest, France. A pre-war photograph of the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff in Hamburg. All nine crew were rescued by the trawler, The coaster (270 GRT) ran ashore on Kalder Steel, off, The cargo ship (3,303 or 3,240 GRT, 1913) struck a submerged wreck in the, The coaster (121 GRT, 1918) sank off the mouth of the. It was in the 1970s a challenge, but I eventually, after many disappointing follows, found a second hand copy, with a book dealer. 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 liner (7,549 GRT, 1920) was spotted off, World War II: The cargo ship (3,598 GRT, 1919) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west north west of. It was fourth English pounds. World War II: The tanker (2,454 GRT, 1888) was sunk as a block ship at Dieppe, France. On the 8th June 1940, she was sunk 300 miles West of Narvik, by the . The reason? This attack however sank the HMS Triad. The passengers were thrown into the sea. She looked at me and said: What have you done with all your clothes? he says. This was the date on which, the RMS Lancastria was sunk off the French port of Nantes, with an unknown loss of life. SS Emidio in Vancouver, June 1932. British and Allied evacuation vessels took Lancastrias survivors aboard, the trawler HMT Cambridgeshire alone rescuing nearly 900 souls. 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. It was 10pm. These little kids beside me some of them were only five years old, he says. 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. 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. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe Watch on YouTube Hell Below 2 seasons . 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. She was built in 1936 and sailed for 30 years before retiring in 1967. Couple find note in chimney that reveals their 290,000 house was 100 times cheaper 50 years ago. (Look 18/06/1940), World War II: The naval trawler (348 GRT, 1929) ran aground at Brest, France and was abandoned without loss. World War II:The auxiliary minesweeper (628 GRT) was scuttled at Le Havre, France. After being pulled up by a rope to the Hurricane, Colin was still so cold he could feel nothing below the waist. Up went the bows and down she went.. On 1 July 1940, the SS Arandora Star began its final, fateful voyage, transporting internees from Liverpool to camps in Canada. By then the crippled Glorious was listing and turning in circles while being relentlessly pounded by German guns. 'This is the most ridiculous thing I've seen!' If World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (74 GRT) was scuttled at Cherbourg, France. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. World War II: The cargo ship (2,975 GRT, 1906) struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Pantelleria. 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. If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us. 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. Even when coupled with the sinking of the RMS Lusitania off the south coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915 by German which killed 1,195, leaving 761 survivorsLancastria would apparently exceed the combined death total. Earlier that day the battlecruisers sank an oil tanker and a trawler. 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. This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 08:28. For the first few days after his rescue, he remained very weak as the Hurricane took the survivors to Glasgow. Oscar Cainer tells all. Hold No. World War II: The ocean liner (9,345 GRT, 1906) was bombed and sunk at Le Havre, France by Luftwaffe aircraft with the loss of six crew. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . In June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed to a new trans-Atlantic evacuation scheme. These advantages meant that battleships and battlecruisers were repeatedly sunk by carrier-based aircraft, from Pearl Harbor to Taranto to the Battle of the Philippines Sea. There was no emotional farewell. As he worked, he knew that a single wave could sweep him away. Measuring some 697 feet (212 metres) in length, it could carry . As Colin recalls, his mothers attitude was: Least said, soonest mended.. She was subsequently salvaged and repaired by the Germans and entered. Andrea Doria, Italian passenger liner that sank on July 25-26, 1956, after colliding with the Stockholm off the coast of Nantucket in the Atlantic Ocean. Just two weeks after being set up, it received more than 200,000 applications from worried parents for just 20,000 places. 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 Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-Up, June 1940. World War II: The fishing vessel (57 GRT) struck a mine and sank at Taranto, Italy. This elderly nurse sitting next to me whod earlier been comforting me became distressed, he says. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of. For his part, Colin was starting to realise how hard it would be to marshal all the children into the lifeboats. 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. At 11, Colin was already a veteran of wartime upheavals. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. : Carron United Kingdom World War II: The Admiralty-requisitioned cargo ship . From the half-submerged Lifeboat 2, Colin watched as the Benares sank below the waves. September 3, 2020 Call it fate, coincidence, predestination, or just bad luck, somehow Michael McShane ended up on the British passenger liner SS Athenia during the first few days of September 1939. 10 Historical Prophecies That Actually Came True 10- RMS Titanic Disaster. Then he caught a whiff of the telltale smell of explosives. British war correspondent's interview with French seaman on the sinking of French repatriation ship SS Meknes, English Channel, 24/7/1940. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (301 GRT, 1907) was scuttled at, World War II: The naval tug (179 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The cargo ship (1,199 GRT, 1908) was scuttled at, World War II: The cargo ship (3,594 GRT, 1920) was scuttled at Rochefort, France. 'Dreadful time': A letter sent by a survivor of the sinking to their parents tell of their horrendous experience on the sinking ship. Seager Co. Tempus Shipping Ltd). Within half an hour, four of the crew members on his boat had slipped into unconsciousness and died. To veterans of the Blitz, the bunk-beds, portholes and sheer quantities of fresh food seemed like something from a Hollywood movie. 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. Then, mercifully, he threw himself overboard. 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 (. 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 . Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. However, he was told to embark as many as possible. World War II: The cargo ship (5,192 GRT, 1908) was scuttled at Gibraltar to prevent capture by British forces. The Glorious then was assigned to pick up the fighters she had just dropped off. Contributed on: 22 May 2005. 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. The RMS Queen Mary is now a floating hotel located in . Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 Ships Captured or Detained 1939 (80 ships) Ships Sunk, Damaged or Detained 1940 (48 ships) 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 as the source. As it grew lighter, he could see corpses floating around each lifeboat. Not a member of the Naval Institute? The notifications are not legally enforceable; hence, news editors could choose not to abide by them but, generally, accede to these notices. Estimates of the loss range between 3,000 and 5,800 fatalities. Wynn states that there were 2,488 survivors and a minimum of 2,385 perished. Some of the survivors later recalled feeling excited about this strange new adventure. The 1,300-ton ship sustained a multiple hits from the two 40,000-ton battlecruisersbut on her second run, one of her torpedoes slammed into the Scharnhorst, ripping a 12-meter wide hole into her hull that let in over two thousand tons of water, knocked her aft Caesar turret out of action, killed forty-eight crew, and disabled her starboard propeller shaft. Many survivors perished from hypothermia or suffocated on fuel oil. The great betrayal: How journalist Isabel Oakeshott leaked Matt Hancock's WhatsApps after they worked Don't just stick to the Malbec! 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.

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