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F#©k the Titanic!
I'm fed up with the RMS Titanic.
F#©k the Titanic!
Why so much fuss about that piece of British poor engineering, deficient manufacturing and questionable seamanship?
A smokescreen aimed at deflecting public attention from much bigger disasters caused bu British war crimes?
Contrary to general belief the world's greatest ship disaster did not occur in the Atlantic Ocean and the ship was not the Titanic. The greatest ship disaster occured on 3 May 1945 in Lübeck Bay in the Baltic Sea. Three ships were involved: the Cap Arcona, the Thielbek and the Athen.
The ships were rocketed and bombed by Royal Air Force Typhoons of 263 squadron from Ahlhorn, 197 squadron from Celle and 198 squadron from Plantlünne.
The 27,571 register ton Cap Arcona was the most beautiful of the Hamburg-Süd fleet of liners. It was a slender, twin propeller, three funneled luxury liner. She was built in the Hamburg Blohm and Voss shipyard and launched on 14 May 1927. She had sailed between Hamburg and Rio de Janeiro for a period of twelve years when on 25 August 1939 she was commandeered for war service. Following the invasion of Poland she was docked at Gotenhafen from 29 November 1939 to 31 January 1945 as floating accommodation.
In the face of advancing Russian troops she was used to transport refugees from Gotenhafen to Copenhagen.
On May 2, 1945, the British Second Army reached the towns of Lübeck and Wismar. No. 6 Commando, 1st Special Service Brigade commanded by Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts, and 11th Armoured Division, commanded by Major-General George P. B. Roberts, entered Lübeck without resistance. On that day Mr. De Blonay of the International Committee of the Red Cross informed Major-General Roberts that 7,000-8,000 prisoners were aboard ships in the Bay of Lübeck.
On May 3, 1945, three days after Hitler's suicide and only one day before the unconditional surrender of the German troops in Northwestern Germany at Lüneburg Heath to Field Marshal Montgomery, the Cap Arcona, the Thielbek, and the passenger liner Deutschland (possibly converted to a hospital ship but not marked as such), were attacked as part of general attacks on shipping in the Baltic Sea by RAF Typhoons of 83 Group of the 2nd Tactical Air Force.
The aircraft were from No. 184 Squadron, No. 193 Squadron, No. 263 Squadron, No. 197 Squadron RAF, and No. 198 Squadron. These Hawker Typhoon Mark 1B fighter-bombers carried eight HE High Explosive "60 lb" RP-3 unguided rockets or two 500 lb bombs and four 20 mm cannon.
Pilots of the attacking force stated that they were unaware that the ships were laden with prisoners who had survived the camps. Some sources suggest elements of British command knew of the occupants, but failed to pass the information on.
RAF Pilot Allan Wyse of No. 193 Squadron later recalled, "We used our cannon fire at the chaps in the water . . . we shot them up with 20 mm cannons in the water. Horrible thing, but we were told to do it and we did it. That's war."
Most of the passengers died, and the sinking of the Сap Arcona was one of the biggest single-incident maritime losses of life of the war, and as such one of the largest maritime losses of life in history, with about 5,000 victims.
For weeks after the attack, the bodies of victims washed ashore, where they were collected and buried in mass graves at Neustadt in Holstein, Scharbeutz and Timmendorfer Strand. Parts of skeletons washed ashore over the next thirty years, until the last find in 1971.
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Originally Posted by 2Cool
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