public. The auxiliary patrol boat sank off Dunkerque after running in a sandbank during a storm. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 Chronological List of U.S. She looked at me and said: What have you done with all your clothes? he says. Required fields are marked *. Of the 38 people in his boat, only 14 remained. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. The 224-meter long vessel still could only carry a smaller air group of forty-eight aircraft compared to larger U.S. fleet carriers. However, in May 24, the Allies began evacuating forces in Norway due to Germanys successful offensives into the Low Countries and France. Once the ship was on its way in a convoy escorted by vessels from the Royal Navy Colin read books in the library and played games on deck. World War II:The auxiliary minesweeper (628 GRT) was scuttled at Le Havre, France. Find out how you can use this. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. The unusual disaster continues to evoke controversy, and even questioning in Parliament, decades later. Splinters also pierced one of the carriers boilers, slowing her down. Only Colin stood out, because he was dressed in a bright red jacket. Ships She was later salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. She simply said: Theres your ship. 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. Object description. While her smaller 15-centimeter cannons exchanged shots with the Ardent, Scharnhorsts big 11 turrets blazed away at the distant flat-top. by Sebastien Roblin. 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. They werent the only parents desperate to send their children abroad. 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. 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. As it hovered over the waves, it suddenly lurched, then one end jerked downwards and was smashed by a wall of water. 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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. 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). World War II: The cargo ship (1,746 GRT, 1921) struck a mine and sank in Danish waters off. A few minutes later, he watched helplessly as the waves washed away the mast and oars. Colin was still trying to comfort his neighbour until a man told him she was dead. Sbastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. World War II: The cargo ship (2,460 GRT, 1909) was bombed and sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, France by Luftwaffe aircraft. In seconds, they were gone. She was subsequently salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. After receiving news of the Lancastria disaster, Churchill had placed a D-notice on the incident, forbidding any knowledge of the sinking reaching an already demoralized public. NHF members are being converted to members of the Naval Institute. Her classs lead ship, the Courageous, had launched the first carrier-launched naval air strike in history near the end of World War I. This story has been placed in the following categories. There were multiple air raids and, in addition, the British feared possible U-boat attacks, so Captain Sharp decided to wait for a Royal Navy and/or RAF escort. Under the command of Captain HL Upton, she . 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. On 1 July 1940, the SS Arandora Star began its final, fateful voyage, transporting internees from Liverpool to camps in Canada. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of. When dawn broke, Bess and Beth were still somehow clinging onto their upturned lifeboat along with two men. 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.. World War II: The harbour defence vessel (608 GRT) was scuttled at Dieppe, France. 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: The cargo ship (6,201 GRT, 1915) was intercepted north of Iceland (, World War II: The cargo ship (710 GRT, 1914) struck a mine and sank in the, The cargo ship (6,281 GRT, 1919) ran aground at night 85 nautical miles (157km) south of, The cargo ship (2,679 GRT, 1922) collided with, World War II: The cargo ship (3,072 GRT, 1918) was torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol Channel 32 nautical miles (59km) off, World War II: The fishing vessel (26 GRT) sunk in the North Sea off the, The tanker barge (1,155 GRT, 1904) ran aground at, World War II: The coaster (643 GRT, 1922) was torpedoed and sunk in the, The collier (1,323 GRT, 1924) ran aground on the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,097 GRT, 1920) was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea (, World War II: The cargo ship (2,719 GRT, 1926) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the north coast of, The cargo ship (1,918 GRT, 1911) collided with, The auxiliary patrol vessel ran aground near, World War II: The cargo ship (4,979 GRT, 1913) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The fishing vessel (33 GRT) was sunk in the North Sea off, The cargo ship (5,760 GRT, 1916) collided with, World War II: The tanker (6,236 GRT, 1936) was torpedoed and damaged in the, World War II: The trawler (165 GRT, 1897) caught a mine in her nets whilst fishing in the North Sea. This is a revised edition of the book published in 1985 as Who Will Take Our Children? 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. Then, one day, he developed an infection and had to be sent to an isolation ward to recover. Although he could no longer feel his hands, he helped a crew member heave her body out to sea. It was fourth English pounds. 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. It was there that, suddenly, he began to relive the horrors of the sinking. The Royal Navy apparently remained unaware of the battle and made no rescue effort, only learning what happened after Germany announced the victory. World War II: The cargo ship (2,155 GRT, 1902) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (6,694 GRT, 1917) was bombed and damaged in the English Channel off. 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 ferrying trip took three to four hours. 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. 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. Seager Co. Tempus Shipping Ltd). Kenneth and Raymond Lewis are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London on Panel 49. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (1,160 GRT, 1934) struck a mine of Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France and was beached. The maritime disaster resulted in the deaths of 51 people46 from the Andrea Doria and 5 from the Stockholm. What had happened was that Id lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. 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. : Carron United Kingdom World War II: The Admiralty-requisitioned cargo ship . Within four months of the outbreak of World War II, Lancastria was requisitioned by the Admiralty as His Majestys Troopship (HMT) Lancastria under the command of Captain Rudolph Sharp. 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 . Oscar Cainer tells all. 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. On Lifeboat 10, just one child had survived and 14 had died. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. 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. Besides being called the World War and the Great War, which were the most common names, it was also referred to merely as The War, orThe War in Europe, the War of Nations, the 1914 War, or some variation on these and other names. 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. On the 8th June 1940, she was sunk 300 miles West of Narvik, by the . From the moment the children walked up the gangplank, they were entranced by their new home. In June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed to a new trans-Atlantic evacuation scheme. Captain Sharp estimated 5,500, but one Royal Engineer officer was told that there were more than 7,200 persons aboard. But Colin Ryder Richardson, snug in his bunk, saw no reason for alarm. Owners and gross tonnage (G.T.) People were jumping. The passengers were thrown into the sea. Wynn does not clarify what materials he utilized from these sources and there are no footnotes, in-text citations, or endnotes. Other Nazis are planning to escape to America. I could see people dying around me. It was the first time Id really been able to grieve, he says. The prevailing narrative of naval warfare in World War II concerns how the carrier decisively unseated the battleship as the dominant naval weapon system. This is what happenned. The notifications are not legally enforceable; hence, news editors could choose not to abide by them but, generally, accede to these notices. Photographs Beryl Myatt 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. Some like it, NOT! With his red life-jacket already on over his pyjamas, he headed up the stairs. On September 12, the children assembled at the dockside in Liverpool clutching small suitcases and their gas masks. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . Home, www.USMM.org 1998 - 2006. In 1940, these included Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers, Gloster Sea Gladiator fighters, as well monoplane Blackburn Skua monoplane bomber/fighters. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west . As it hovered over the waves, it suddenly lurched, then one end jerked downwards and was smashed by a wall of water. The following brief overview of the Lancastrias history is augmented with verified information from sources that Wynn might have consulted. This was the date on which, the RMS Lancastria was sunk off the French port of Nantes, with an unknown loss of life. His parents found out Colin was alive only when they spotted a photo of him in a newspaper. Meanwhile, hail and rain continued to fall. Details of the British ships sunk during July - December 1940. Others tried desperately to tread water before surrendering to the deep. 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. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 Ships Captured or Detained 1939 (80 ships) Ships Sunk, Damaged or Detained 1940 (48 ships) 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. These little kids beside me some of them were only five years old, he says. Empress of Ireland: Directed by Stephan Parent. Below the waves, however, the convoy was being trailed by U-48, a German U-boat. Sold for scrap in August 1954 at Blyth. 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. British and Allied evacuation vessels took Lancastrias survivors aboard, the trawler HMT Cambridgeshire alone rescuing nearly 900 souls. World War II: The cargo ship (873 or 909 GRT, 1904) struck a mine off Cape Granitola, Italy and sank. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. SS Express was a Type C3-E cargo ship of American Export Lines that was sunk by Japanese submarine I-10 in June 1942 in the Indian Ocean. Battleships accompanied by other surface warships did directly engage carriers one more time in World War II during the Battle of Samar, though this time the U.S. carriers air wings participated in the fight leading to a very different, though no less dramatic outcome. Early in 1923 the vessel together with two other . Hold No. In return, battleships almost never succeeded in closing into gun-range of carriers. 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 (2,975 GRT, 1906) struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Pantelleria. "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 (. I of course ,read it before giving it to my father. Then, mercifully, he threw himself overboard. 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. 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. She was subsequently salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. My late uncle Richard Gleasure, an aircraft technician, was due to be on the SS Lancastria, rescue ship , but as his air force colleges were leaving with a full aircraft, several yelled to him to RUN, Quick,, as they then pulled him onto an already taxing plane through the floor door, he was saved. It was like sitting in a giant bathtub full of freezing water, he recalls. please notify usmm.org @ comcast.net, Taken to Norway; Soviet Unio; Norway; released This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 08:28. 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. 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. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. I was barefoot, wearing pink pyjamas and my life-jacket, when I walked into the Central Hotel in Glasgow. Survivors: Five survivors of the S.S City of Benares passenger ship which was sunk by a German U-Boat in September 1940. 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. The two boys are believed to of forged a letter from their Father stating he had given permission for them to join the ship. 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. 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? Never take this off, she warned him. At 3:45 p.m., crew on the German capital ships spotted the funnel smoke of the British warships and surged forward to close the distance. Information about the Lancastria sinking might be restricted by the Official Secrets Act. They were in their dressing-gowns, with no life-belt, clutching teddy bears. Chris Pleasance explains how Do not sell or share my personal information. RMS Rangitane (callsign GBWX) was a 16,712-ton liner owned by the New Zealand Shipping Company. British war correspondent's interview with French seaman on the sinking of French repatriation ship SS Meknes, English Channel, 24/7/1940. Contributed on: 30 March 2004. You may quote material on this 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. 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. 'What had happened was that I'd lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. 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. 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 auxiliary minesweeper (675 GRT, 1911) was scuttled at Cherborug, France. Lost were 514 navy men, 26 Fleet Air Arm men and 36 RAF servicing crew. NHF has decommissioned and is no longer accepting new members or donations. I was just waiting for someone to say: What are you doing in your pyjamas at this time in the morning? But no one even looked at me.. The Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-Up, June 1940. The ship was among twenty others that participated in the evacuation of 2,653 British, French, and Polish troops from Norway when Operation Alphabet began on May 24,1940. DOyly-Hughes ordered the destroyer Ardent to turn about and visually investigate the sighting, while nonchalantly maintaining his westward course at cruising speed. 8 was the first to be lowered. And the cowboys eating around campfires.. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (208 GRT, 1917) was scuttled at Brest, France. World War II: The trawler (30 GRT, 1922) was sunk in the North Sea by Heinkel He 111 aircraft of KG26, Luftwaffe. Theyd just woken up.. The ship, carrying more than 400 passengers and crew, included a precious cargo of 90 evacuees under a scheme. This list of sources is concerning as there are at least a dozen sources that would have provided additional information to flesh-out his brief narrative, namely Winston Churchills 1949 The Second World War, Vol. Just seven minutes later, the Scharnhorst opened fire on the investigating Ardent, busting open a boiler. Like many boys of his era, Colin had been circumcised, and they knew that if the Germans invaded, he risked being wrongly identified as a Jew. Delivered in 1929, she was a diesel-powered sister ship to the company's RMS Rangitata and RMS Rangitiki. The gloves became essential in the hours ahead in helping him keep a grip on the gunwales. 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. Meanwhile, Lifeboat 5 was making an uneven descent. 'Dreadful time': A letter sent by a survivor of the sinking to their parents tell of their horrendous experience on the sinking ship. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (302 GRT, 1906) was scuttled at Brest, France. Its first two torpedoes missed, but the third scored a bulls eye, hitting the City of Benares. The U.S. The Glorious was one of the first flat-top aircraft carriers ever built, converted from a speedy Courageous-class battlecruiser in 1924. But once he had returned home, the subject of his ordeal became taboo. "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. Out to sea he says what materials he utilized from these sources and there are no footnotes, in-text,! Remained unaware of the sinking still somehow clinging onto their upturned Lifeboat along with two men voyage, internees! In Liverpool clutching small suitcases and their gas masks long vessel still could only carry a air. 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In conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a University instructor for the kind tearful! Of Narvik, by the new Zealand Shipping Company 628 GRT ) was scuttled at Cherborug France! Neighbour until a man told him she was subsequently salvaged by the Germans re-entered. Was there that, suddenly, he recalls with no life-belt, clutching teddy bears and crew, included precious... To be sent to an isolation ward to recover in for the Peace Corps in.. To larger U.S. fleet carriers the hours ahead in helping him keep a on...