Atlantic Convoy Torpedo Survivors - Peter Stark Lansley

• Main Author: Their Finest Hour Project Team
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: British history; European history (excl. British; classical Greek and Roman); International history; Their Finest Hour; World War Two; Aeroplane; Africa; African; Air Force; Air Raid; Aircraft; Airplane; Armed Forces; Asia; Asian; Atlantic; Aviation; Battle; Battle of the Atlantic; Belgian; Belgium; Bomb; Bombed; Bombing; Bombs; Britain; British; British Empire; Chamberlain; Child; Childhood; Children; Civilian; Civilians; Colonial; Commonwealth; D-Day; Eastern Front; Education; Egypt; Egyptian; Empire; Empire/Commonwealth; England; English; Europe; European; Flight; France; Iceland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.25446/oxford.25923802.v1; https://figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Atlantic_Convoy_Torpedo_Survivors_-_Peter_Stark_Lansley/25923802

While serving on M. V. Wandby as 2nd Radio Officer aged 21 years, Peter Stark Lansley's merchant ship was hit by a German U-boat torpedo and sunk off the coast of Iceland. The sinking of M.V. Wandby was part of one of the biggest convoy disasters of the war. M.V. Wandby was in convoy HX79 in which 63 ships were lost during the night of 19-20 October 1940. The German U-boat aces Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien, Heinrich Bleichrodt, Joachim Schepke and Engelbert Endrass were responsible. The official account can be found in 'The Battle of the Atlantic: The Official Account of the Fight Against the U-Boats 1939-1945', H.M. Stationary Office, 1946, pp.22-3, and 'The Battle of the Atlantic' by John Costello and Terry Hughes, Collins 1977, p.110. Peter's ship M.V. Wandby was torpedoed at 23:22 hours during the period of a full moon on 19 October 1940 and sank on 21 October. The ship was en route from Victoria British Columbia and was carrying a cargo of 1,700 tons of lead and zinc and 7,200 tons of lumber. Over the next six hours, thirteen ships were torpedoed, six by the U-boat U-47 alone. None of the attacking U-boats were damaged. Throughout the day a large escort force of 11 warships also gathered to provide cover. It suffered major losses from a U-boat attack, and, with the attack on convoy SC 7 the previous day, represents the worst two days' shipping losses in the entire Atlantic campaign. Peter was rescued by H.M. Tranler Angle, one of the convoy's escort vessels. Along with other survivors, Peter was landed at Belfast, arriving in England in early November 1940. The crew of 34 were all saved. As Peter was the 2nd Radio Officer on board he was no doubt a key officer involved in communicating the ship's plight and obtaining help to save the crew. Although Peter survived, the ordeal seriously affected his health making it impossible for him to return to permanent Merchant Navy duties again. Nevertheless, he continued his service to the country in radio telecommunications for many years after this trauma. Peter ...