Thread by @NickWhithorn

12 September 1942, what is known as the "Laconia Incident" in Britain, or "Laconia Tragedy" in Italy, takes place in the South Atlantic, near Ascension Island. Learning the details of this terrible event, it becomes clear why the denomination is different [Thread] >> 1

RMS Laconia (photo), an ocean liner converted into a troop ship, sets sail from Suez on 12 August 1942, heading for England. It is carrying 463 crew members, 286 British troops, 80 women & children (family members of British troops/crew) & 103 Polish soldiers >> 2

The Polish soldiers are responsible for guarding the largest contingent of passengers: 1,800 Italian prisoners of war. The holds of the ship have been converted to transport 900 prisoners but for this trip double the number have been "crammed" into the limited space >> 3

The ongoing El Alamein campaign has seen large numbers of Italian troops captured (Italians significantly outnumber Germans in the Axis Forces) & there is pressure to move as many as possible out. As well as inadequate space, prisoners face insufficient food & water rations >> 4

The ship has made stops in Adem, Mombasa, Durban & Cape Town, and on 12 September 1942 is in the South Atlantic, 210km NNE of Ascension Island. Here, it is hit by a torpedo fired by German submarine U-156, commanded by Werner Hartenstein (photo) >> 5

What follows shows humanity at its best & its worst.
The immediate victims are the Italian prisoners in the hold struck by the torpedo. Those in the other two holds are locked in & the Polish guards apparently receive orders not to let them out >> 6

Mayhem ensues as desperate Italian prisoners attempt to force open the barred gates. The guards use bayonets & gunfire to hold them back. As bodies fall to the floor, other Italian soldiers climb over them to take their place & so it goes on >> 7

Some men, terrified of drowning, begin to smash their heads against the hull in an attempt to commit suicide. Eventually, the sheer force of numbers and fear buckles one of the gates & the surviving prisoners pour out of the holds and up onto the deck >> 8

Even now, the Italians are shot & bayoneted by Polish & British soldiers as they attempt to reach the lifeboats. Then, the final horrific detail, confirmed by Italian survivors & by crew of the Italian submarine 'Cappellini' (see below), who saw bodies of Italian prisoners >> 9

Many of the Italians who manage to reach lifeboats, either as they are lowered or once in the water, when gripping onto the side of the boat to climb in, have their fingers or whole hands chopped off with hatchets. Thus, any surviving Italians are left in the water >> 10

This is where the "positive" part of the story begins. After the ship has sunk, the German submarine surfaces, perhaps with the intention of taking senior officers prisoner. When the Commander discovers there are Italian soldiers among the survivors, he calls U-Boat Command >> 11

Admiral Dönitz authorises him to rescue all survivors (something that he has already begun to do on his own initiative) & orders two other submarines, U-506 & U-507, to the location to help rescue efforts. Italy orders the submarine "Cappellini" to join them >> 12

However, 48 hours are needed before any help arrives & Hartenstein has over 1,000 survivors, inside the submarine, on deck & mostly in lifeboats tied to the vessel. He decides to send a message in English asking for any ship to help & guaranteeing they will not be attacked >> 13

This message is sent out three times on 13 September but no ships answer the call. The British in Freetown intercept the message but believe it could be a trap. Finally, at dawn on 15 September, U-506 arrives and then, in the afternoon of the same day, U-507 >> 14

The two new arrivals (photo, U-156 with U-506) take a share of survivors on board and a number of lifeboats in tow, easing the burden on Hartenstein. Then, there is a dramatic epilogue on 16 September. At 11.55, an American B-24 Liberator appears in the sky above the scene >> 15

The scene must be very clear to the crew of the plane. U-506 & U-507 have moved away & only U-156 is left. The sea around the submarine is full of bodies & wreakage. Hartenstein has laid out a huge white sheet with a red cross on the deck >> 16

In addition, Hartenstein sends a Morse code message saying he is carrying survivors of the Laconia, including women & children. There is no reply. An RAF officer among the survivors repeats the message to give it more credibility. Again, no reply. The plane flies away >> 17

At 12.32, the plane reappears. It flies over U-156 & drops a bomb. Hartenstein orders the survivors into the lifeboats & they are cast off, allowing the submarine to dive. The plane drops five bombs in total, one of which damages the periscope of the submarine >> 18

U-156 stays submerged for six hours & eventually departs the scene without any survivors. Those it leaves behind are rescued by Italian submarine 'Cappellini', which arrives later on 16 September. All survivors are eventually transferred to Vichy French merchant ships >> 19

The Commander of the 'Cappellini' reports that when reaching the lifeboats, "floating in the sea around them were bodies heavily mauled by sharks. Others had their hands cut off cleanly, as if done by an axe” >> 20

As often happens in such cases, different sources give different numbers of victims. The vast majority of the 1,800 Italian prisoners perished, probably between 1,350 & 1,400. Of the 103 Polish soldiers, 31 died. Of the over 800 British passengers, just 11 died >> 21

This tragedy has been largely forgotten. In Italy, after the war, there was a collective desire to move on & forget the disastrous events that had scarred the nation. For the British, this was a minor event, in which they suffered few casualties hence the use of "incident" >> 22

The few documentaries or TV dramatisations of the events have generally concentrated on the 'heroic' behaviour of U-156 Commander, Hartenstein. There has been no reference to the brutal treatment of the Italian prisoners, sufficiently serious as to constitute a war crime >> 23

Indeed, such documentaries & dramatisations have barely mentioned the presence of the Italian prisoners on board, even though they made up almost all of the victims, perhaps to avoid having to face the truth. This thread is my small contribution to filling this gap // 24