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The Laconia incident was a series of events surrounding the sinking of a British passenger ship in the Atlantic Ocean on 12 September 1942, during World War II, and a subsequent aerial attack on German and Italian submarines involved in rescue attempts.
- 12-24 September 1942( 1942-09-12-1942-09-24)
- Laconia Order issued by Karl Dönitz
- 210 km (110 nmi) NNE off Ascension
The Laconia, a British ocean liner converted to troop ship during the war, was traveling from South Africa to Plymouth, England with more than 3,000 souls on board. The passengers were a mixture of military, a few women and children, Italian prisoners of war (POWs), and their Polish guards.
The first such coverage appeared on 6 August 1956, when Life ran a series of photos of the Italian liner Andrea Doria sinking. The only person known to have taken photos aboard the ship during the fire was Ian Harris from Finchley, London, who was travelling with his wife, Rita Harris.
Nov 16, 2009 · 1942. The Laconia is sunk. A German U-boat sinks a British troop ship, the Laconia, killing more than 1,400 men on September 12, 1942. The commander of the German sub, Capt. Werner Hartenstein,...
Jan 6, 2011 · The sinking of the RMS Laconia marked a major turning point in World War II. When war broke out, the ship was commandeered by the British Government for use as a troopship and fitted with...
BBC Interviews with survivors of the Laconia sinking. Following the story of the sinking of the Cunard Liner Laconia in World War II through the pe...
- 29 min
- 21.7K
- Bretton Ferguson
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The first torpedo struck the liner on the starboard side just abaft the engine room, but did not sink her. 20 minutes later a second torpedo exploded in the engine room, again on the starboard side, and the vessel sank at 10:20 pm. A total of 12 people were killed; six crew and six passengers.
