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To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Courageous_(50)

Courageous served with the Home Fleet in the Channel Force at the start of World War II. On 17 September 1939, under the command of Captain W. T. Mackaig-Jones, she was on an anti-submarine patrol off the coast of Ireland. Two of her four escorting destroyers had been sent to help a merchant ship under attack. During this time, Courageous was stalked for over two hours by the U-29, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart. Then Courageous turned into the wind to launch her aircraft. This manoeuvre put the ship right across the bow of the U-29, which then fired three torpedoes. Two of the torpedoes struck the ship on her port side, and she capsized and sank in 15 minutes with the loss of 518 of her crew, including her captain. She was the first British warship to be lost in the war; the civilian passenger liner Athenia having been sunk two weeks earlier.

An earlier unsuccessful attack on HMS Ark Royal by the U-39, on September 14, and the sinking of Courageous three days later, caused the Royal Navy to withdraw its fleet carriers from anti-submarine patrol.

http://uboat.net/boats/u29.htm

17 Sep 1939
After the sinking of British fleet carrier HMS Courageous British destroyers attacked the boat with depth charges for 4 hours until the boat managed to slip away with minor damages (the destroyers had also expended all their depth charges). (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 90)


9 posted on 09/17/2009 5:26:51 AM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: abb
..and today our government is going to meet to dismantle the missile defense system that is a deterrent to the new Russia.
12 posted on 09/17/2009 5:28:36 AM PDT by mware (F-R-E-E, that spells free. Free Republic.com baby.)
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