 jwintjes wrote: |
I have difficulties to believe that losses among Glorious' crew were light. If I remember correctly, the carrier was hit several times, first in the hangar. One hit during the second part of the engagement (after she had reappeared from the smoke screen laid by her escorts) effectively wiped out the bridge personnel, another one in the engine room must have caused considerable casualties. With a complement of around 1250 I believe at the time of the sinking I have serious doubts that 900 made it off board. As for the Germans, let's not forget Scharnhorst was actually heavily damaged in the engagement by a torpedo hit. Jorit |
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"When at 19:20 of 8. June 1940 the Acasta was sunk the 2 German ships (Scharnhorst and Gneisenau) left the area with Scharnhorst damaged by the torpedo on the starboard side fired by Acasta.
No trials to rescue British survivors was made by the German ships due to the clear danger they were in.
The possibility to have other British ships reaching the area because of the Glorious radio transmission potentially been intercepted by heavy units (even if disturbed by the Gneisenau) togheter with the sailing difficulties of the Scharnhorst unable to sail full speed forced Admiral Wilhelm Marschall to leave the area in a hurry to reach Trondheim as soon as possible to save the damaged Scharnhorst.
At 19:30, the sea was calm, and almost 900 British survivors were floating on rafts waiting to be rescued, with a very limited availability of water and food on the carley floats or the rafts, on some of them nothing at all.
No help came from Royal Navy ships on the area even if 2 destroyers, HMS Vanoc and HMS Veteran were detached to join Glorious from a convoy and without knowing the carrier destiny sailed through the area without noticing anything strange, later they met the survivors on the Faroe Islands.
On the morning of 9. June 1940 the hospital ship Atlantis met the British battleship H.M.S. Valiant and reported the presence of the 2 German battleships she met on the morning 8. June 1940.
Only at that point British Admiralty became aware of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau presence and suspected Glorious destiny, close connecting this with HMS Devonshire report.
H.M.S. Southampton log for 9. June records: "12:55 body sighted in the water, altered course to investigate. 3 bodies seen in the water. 13:05 proceeded at 20 knots to re-join convoy."
H.M.S. Southampton noon position was 68°46'N, 03°40E. These bodies were almost certainly casualties from the previous day engagement.
At about 16:00 on 10. June 1940 the Norwegian SS Marita en route from Tromsø to Thorshavn sighted empty rafts, rafts with dead bodies, and heavy oil at 68°39'N, 04°05'E.
Between 23:45 on 10. June and 05:55 on 11. June the Norwegian merchant ship SS Borgund en route from Tromsø to Thorshavn, sighted 21 rafts at 68°15'N, 02°20'E and 67°59'N, 03°42'E rescuing 3 Officers and 35 sailors from Glorious and 1 from Acasta.
These men were landed at Thorshavn (Faeroe Islands) at 19:30 on 13 June and subsequently returned to the Firth of Forth in Scotland by HMS Veteran, they arrived in Rosyth on 18. June 1940.
5 Glorious sailors rescued from another Norwegian ship taken to Norway and became prisoners of war.
2 Ardent sailors were rescued from a German aircraft became prisoners of war.
Total of 46 were rescued from the sea, while 1.519 (Winton) or 1.530 (Plate) or 1.561 (Curry) or 1.474 lost their lives, probably more than 800 only because they weren't rescued in time.
On German ships (only Scharnhorst) casualties caused by Acasta torpedo were 48 men."