Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugh  Looking at it from Merten’s perspective it was a crazy decision, bearing in mind that his “Eisbar” group had torpedoed the liner LACONIA a couple of months previously with massive loss of life - it too sailing independently. |
I was going to mention the
Laconia is Spidge's post about the Azores but I couldn't remember the name of the ship. First read about her in Bob Whinney's
The U-boat Peril and,
to me, the outcome was more a negative impression of how gung-ho the US could be.
As Whinney explained it, the
Laconia was sunk and found to be carrying among its passengers, 1,800 Italian POWs (similar number to British passengers). The successful U-boat captain surfaced and started taking on survivors while calling for assistance (he took on 193 and even made a trial dive with them on board). He broadcast over the international shipping wave saying he wqould not attack rescuing ships. Several other U-boats and an Italian submarine were also ordered to attend by German High Command. Vichy French warships sailed from West African posts and were given free passage through Whinney's area of responsibility. Whinney was based in Freetown. Not differentiating between British and Italian survivors, the U-boats and the ships ended up saving about 1,000. However, despite one U-boat displaying the Red Cross flag, they were attacked by a US aircraft from Ascension (not the Azores after all that!) forcing them to cut the lifeboats they were towing and submerge. The lifeboats were also, apparently, attacked. This led to Doenitz issuing the Laconia Order which ordered that no survivors were to be picked up after a sinking.