General Chat

One to watch ladies, after all the repeats over xmas!

The Sinking Of The Laconia 1942

Ann

I have just been through this week's and next week's tv mags ticking everything I want to watch or record for later, there is a lot of new stuff on soon so the recorders will be overheating, with trying to record one channel while watching another and then catching up with progs later in the day/night. I ticked the Laconia progs too.

Lizx

noticed the trailer last night which reminded me and I told OH I was watching it!!!!

I was just off to bed last night and the film 'Frantic' with Harrison Ford came on - started watching and got hooked, so bit tired this morning! Anyone else watch it, because I didn't quite understand the ending?

Just checked out 'The Sinking of the Laconia' - looks good and has the lovely Andrew Buchan in it.

Yes Wend, I think he's great.......Frantic, have seen it but am unable to remember the ending lol!

Chris............just pop him in the shed!

Annx

It is a thought Ann, it has a heater, music centre, underlay with carpet on top, chair!! He has a bad habit (especially with films) in saying I'm not interested in that, I'll read my book and then after a 10 minutes or so I notice he is not reading anymore. When we first married he used to say that history was of no use whatsoever - I think over the years I have rubbed off on him - either that or brainwashing!!! He could view the other tv!

Well Chris, I have a OH with the same views, not interested in his ancestors at all, having said that I think he will enjoy tonights show being a man thing.......ships & subs etc!

Annx

I think there were a lot of casualties Sue, I read somewhere that the ship was also carrying Italian POW's, women & children........very sad.

Annx

The Laconia Incident - Account 2

22.00 hours, September 12 1942. German submarine U-156 is on patrol in the South Atlantic off the bulge of West Africa midway between Liberia and Ascension Island. Peering through his periscope, Lieutenant Commander Werner Hartenstein, U-boat ace and holder of Germany’s highest military honour, the Knights Cross, spots a large allied target sailing alone. He attacks and soon his torpedoes have sent the 20,000-ton ship to the bottom of the ocean. But Hartenstein’s satisfaction at the kill soon turns to horror. Surfacing in the hope of capturing the ship’s senior officers and gleaning intelligence information, Hartenstein is appalled to see over two thousand people struggling in the water. For the target U-156 had just sunk was the former Cunard White Star liner, the Laconia. Unbeknownst to Hartenstein, the Laconia was carrying not only her regular crew of 136 but also 80 British women and children, 268 British soldiers, 160 Free Polish troops and 1800 Italian prisoners of war. Aghast at the huge numbers in the water, Hartenstein immediately mounted a rescue operation. Soon U-156 was crammed above and below decks with two hundred survivors including five women with another 200 survivors in tow aboard four lifeboats. Hartenstein radioed to U-boat headquarters in Hamburg alerting them to the situation. Head of submarine operations, Admiral Karl Dönitz (later Chief of the entire German navy and briefly Führer after Hitler's suicide) immediately ordered two other submarines to divert to the scene. Meanwhile Hartenstein sent out a message in plain English to all shipping in the area giving his position, requesting assistance with the rescue effort and promising not to attack. U-156 remained on the surface for the next two and a half days. Just before noon on September 15, she was joined by U-506 commanded by Erich Würdeman and a few hours later by both U-507 under Harro Schacht and the Italian submarine Cappellini. The four submarines with lifeboats in tow and hundreds of survivors standing on the hulls headed towards the African coastline and a rendezvous with Vichy French surface warships which had set out from Senegal and Dahomey (now Benin). The Laconia incident, as it became known, was to have far-reaching consequences. Until then it was common for German submarines to assist torpedoed survivors with food, water and directions to the nearest land. But as his U-boats had been attacked whilst mounting a rescue mission under the Red Cross flag, Admiral Dönitz gave the order that henceforth all rescue operations were prohibited and survivors were to be left in the sea. His Laconia order was used to help convict Dönitz of war crimes at Nuremberg in 1946 even though American submarines in the Pacific operated under the same instructions. He was sentenced to 11 1/2 years, spending most of that time as a companion of Rudolf Hess in Berlin's Spandau prison. But at least Dönitz survived the war and lived into old age. He died on Christmas Eve 1980 at the age of 89, his funeral being attended by thousands of old comrades including over 100 holders of Germany's highest military honour, the Knights Cross, plus many senior officers of the post-war, west-German Federal Navy

Annx

There is actual footage of the rescue on Youtube very eerie.

Annx

Yes I know, but the pictures of the people are so clear, I did not realise the footage existed.
Annx

On our local news they interviewed a woman who was 14 at the time of the sinking and she has watched the programme already which is on tonight and tomorrow, said it was very true to life. Said it showed there is good in everyone, as the man who was Commander of the uboat realised he had made a dreadful mistake and went against orders to rescue people and get other uboats to rescue survivors.

I am recording it for o.h. to watch as well as me watching tonight.

Lizx

Did you enjoy it? We did looking forward to tomorrow night now.

Hello Chris,

Yes! Did not quite catch the first mins, was that a german passport she was burning(mother of baby)?

Annx

Hi Ann,
Yes it was - hence the older lady asking her where she came from as she had an unusual accent.
Alan Bleasdale read a book about the sinking of the Laconia about 7 years ago, and spent over a year researching it.

Thank you Maggie, I thought that may be the case, but was not sure if she is German or the guy in the photograph she carried was German.Am looking forward to the second half tonight!

Annx

Hi just watched the second half of the Sinking of the Laconia wish they told us what happen to all of the people atter they were rescue and got home. How did they cope ?

Sandra,

There is a programme BBC2 tomorrow night, interviews with survivors which should answer a few of your questions.

Annx

Tomorrow should be really interesting. Enjoyed tonight, sad that the sub commander did not survive the war. As for the British and American effort .................