Leopoldville Anniversary - 12/24/1944
 

Posting in remembrance of a bleak Christmas Eve, 1944. In the USA, some people remember 12/24/1944 as the day Glen Miller died in a plane crash near the front - sadly, a much worse tragedy was going on in the English Channel.

U-486 torpedoed the transport SS Leopoldville in the English Channel. 800 American soldiers and Allied sailors were killed. Many died needlessly because emergency services were foolishly at Christmas parties, and the abandon ship order was not given in time:

https://leopoldville.org/

https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/3399.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8drBvXlOAE

British captain of her escort destroyer, HMS Brilliant, was unfairly blamed - even though he and his men saved nearly 1000 lives. To my knowledge, the US army officers on shore who mishandled the evacuation of Leopoldville were never punished.

Less than a year later U-486's men were also dead - a reminder of war's mutual destructiveness.

May the men of the Leopoldville and U-486 rest in peace.

Fair winds and following seas :Kaleun_Salute:

Wow talk about a lack of coordination, communication, and command.


Unfortunately, would not be the first time that people would die due to comms on different frequencies. :(