Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This 13,581 tons, (Cunard) Donaldson liner was sunk on the very first day of the War, west of Scotland by the German submarine U-30. 118 passengers drowned. Also on board were 316 Americans of whom 28 were lost.
2. This oh-so-close thing could have been one of the very worst maritime disasters of the war (October 30, 1939). The German submarine U-56, commanded by Lt. Wilhelm Zahn, found itself in the middle of a contingent of the British Home Fleet sailing just west of the Orkney Islands. Four British capital ships lay at his mercy - HMS Rodney, HMS Hood, HMS Repulse and HMS ________. Zahn fired three torpedoes at the target which was impossible to miss. Two of the torpedoes actually hit the HMS _______, which was the Flagship of the Home Fleet, but did not explode! The U-56 made a quick getaway. What was the flagship?
3. This 5,261 ton German passenger liner was transporting troops and horses to the invasion of Norway. While off Lillesund in southern Norway, the ship was torpedoed by the Polish submarine Orzel. Three torpedoes were fired but only two exploded. The third torpedo struck the ship amidships, breaking its back and sending it slowly to the bottom.
4. May 24, 1941, Britain's largest battle cruiser (44,600 tons) was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck commanded by Admiral Lutjens and captained by Captain Ernst Lindemann in an early morning action in the Denmark Strait, between Iceland and Greenland.
5. This was the worst British maritime disaster of the war with losses ranging between 2,000 to 6,000 lives. Bombed 10 miles off St Nazaire on 17th June 1940, what was the name of this ship? The HMT ____ (ex Cunard Liner).
6. On Jan 30th 1945, a German steamer of 25,484 tons was torpedoed by a Russian submarine S-13 about 28 miles NNE of Leba in the Baltic. It is estimated that between 5,900 and 10,000 people were on board the vessel during the evacuation of German troops and personnel from the Baltic ports.
7. This Japanese 5,065 ton steamer was torpedoed by British submarine HMS Tradewind off the coast of Sumatra. The vessel was carrying 2,300 Dutch, British, American and Australian POW's and 4,200 Javanese slave laborers for work on a railway in Sumatra.
8. This hugely powerful 64,000 tons Japanese battleship was sunk by US air attack between Japan and Okinawa on Apr 7th 1945.
9. On July 1, 1942, this vessel was sunk by mistake by the American submarine 'Sturgeon' off Cape Bojidoru, Luzon, in the Philippines. She was heading for Japan from Rabaul, New Britain, carrying 1035 Australian nationals including 845 army prisoners of war, the bulk of the 22 Batalion, Australian 8th. Division (Lark Force). The 7,267 ton passenger ship had left Rabaul on the 22nd of July, unescorted, and at 0225 hrs on July 1st, was hit by two torpedoes from a four torpedo spread from the Sturgeon at a range of 4,000 yards.
10. This heavy cruiser served throughout the Pacific War until its final mission, perhaps the war's most secret mission. On July 30,1945, it was sunk by torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-58.
Source: Author
deadmeat
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bloomsby before going online.
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