During wartime, sinking enemy ships was considered of paramount importance, denying the enemy the ability to transport troops and move equipment. The laws of warfare suggests that civilians should not be targeted, but in the fog of war, with decisions needing to be taken within split seconds, sometimes tragedies occurred. A reckless disregard for human life often affected commanders in the field as well, as they sought to destroy enemy targets regardless of civilian casualties.
There have been "famous sinkings" of passenger ships during the First and Second World War, from the destruction of the Lusitania in 1915 to the tragic sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945 with over 25,000 dead. A little-known sinking, that of the Laconia in 1942, however, should be better known, as several passengers who managed to escape survived for nearly a month drifting at sea. Some were rescued by German submarines, others by French warships. Still, some eventually landed on the coast of Africa after a trip of 700 miles.
Mistaking the ship for a cargo ship, a German submarine fired two torpedoes which struck dead center, causing the Laconia to sink in less than an hour. Survivors jumped overboard and boarded rescue boats. Realizing they had sunk a British civilian liner instead of a cargo ship, the German captain made the unprecedented decision to rescue as many survivors as possible, even if this meant putting his own ship at risk. When he discovered that many of the survivors were Italian prisoners of war, the captain received permission to continue the rescue.
An attack by an American bomber ended those efforts, and those who remained in the water found themselves without water or food as they drifted away from shipping lines. Through grit and pure survival instinct, a few hardy individuals survived to tell the tale of the Laconia.
Fans of history and of true survival stories will appreciate this quick read.
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