The Laconia incident was a series of events surrounding the sinking of a British troopship in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II and an attack on the subsequent rescue attempts. On 12 September 1942, RMS Laconia carrying some 2,732 crew, passengers, soldiers and prisoners of war (POWs), was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat submarine U-156 off the coast of West Africa. Operating partly under the dictates of the old prize rules, the U-boat commander, Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartenstein, immediately commenced rescue operations. U-156 broadcast their humanitarian intent on open radio channels to all Allied forces in the area, and were joined by the crews of several other U-boats in the vicinity.
Author's Note: My grandfather emigrated to America on The Laconia. The ship saw long service so his arrival predates these events. However, and ironically, he saw combat in WWII. Here is his profile: https://www.usarmyregistry.org/Registry ... eID=417127
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Greetings...thx you for your grandads svc. My grandad was a merchant marine lost in the North Atlantic. Our love of rations will never Forget the loss our families suffered during thr war,...
Re: The Sinking of The SS Laconia
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 7:50 pm
by jfko6
Likewise lost an uncle in the Bay of Biscay during the Second World War. The wreckage is still there somewhere.
Brings into perspective what life is really all about, essentially reconciliation. Save in my experience many people don't get that basic of all lesson.
Re: The Sinking of The SS Laconia
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 8:07 pm
by BTemple
My grandfather, from Newfoundland, served with the British Royal Navy from 1940-1946, so pretty much most of WW2 and more besides.
He primarily did convoy escort duty across the Atlantic, was torpedoed once and struck a mine once as well. I can only imagine the sheer terror of not knowing if your ship happens to be the target of a German U-Boat at any time.
He also did shore work as a repairman at naval bases in Portsmouth, Londonderry, Gibraltar (where he did patrols of that section of the Mediterranean and Atlantic) and even spent time at a Royal Navy installation in Virginia as well while awaiting repairs on his ship. While in that area he apparently, as his lifelong story goes, met JFK while with a small group of Royal Navy friends and went to a party with him. He always had a large framed picture of JFK hung in my grandparents house with a Poppy stuck into it. As a young child growing up in Newfoundland I always thought that was strange until I heard the story.
Re: The Sinking of The SS Laconia
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 10:04 am
by jfko6
That's a good story. Met actress Barbara Eden this year: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6980
She related to me that she met JFK. It's written in her auto. Ironically, I picked up an old comic all about JFK. Will have it graded.
But here's what she told me this year in Massachusetts, "He was a nice man."
-JFK
