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German treatment of their prisoners was humane and as good as could be expected in the crowded conditions, and those who died were given proper funerals. The number of prisoners aboard the German ships caused concern to the German commanders and they decided to release most of them. After an intended
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instructions, however, Captain Upton ordered "QQQ" ('suspicious vessel') to be broadcast, which prompted signals jamming and shelling by the
Germans. The main transmitter was quickly disabled and the emergency set was used to send "RRR" ('raider attack'), which was received and relayed. There
419:. Despite the surrender, shelling continued and the furious Upton ordered full speed and return fire from the ship's guns, but this was prevented by destruction of telephones. The German shelling ceased and Upton gave the order to abandon ship.
316:
On her final voyage, which had been delayed by labour disputes, she carried 14,000 tons of cargo, including foodstuffs and silver bullion, valued at over £2 million at 1940 prices. She carried 111 passengers, including
474:, was the first Allied aircraft on the scene at about 2:30 pm, but found only an oil slick and debris. A subsequent air search missed the raiders, although they themselves saw one of the search aircraft.
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Once he knew that the distress signals had been received in New
Zealand, Upton ordered the ship's surrender. The shelling had caused widespread fires and some casualties, and, with her steering damaged,
285:, 530 feet (160 m) registered length and 70 feet (21 m) beam. They could carry nearly 600 passengers in 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes, 200 crew members, and substantial cargo. They had Brown-
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at dawn and supervised an orderly and rapid evacuation. The survivors, 296 passengers and crew, were taken across to the German ships by lifeboats or German boats and sent below.
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s escape would be unlikely. Once hove to, sensitive documents such as code books were destroyed, and the crew instructed to destroy key engine components, to prevent
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who was a notable kindergarten teacher was killed. Elizabeth Plumb, a 59-year-old stewardess, ship's cook
William Francis and deck mechanic John Walker were awarded
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393:, which in turn, with steering damaged by the shelling, also steered directly at a German ship before circling. The helmsman reported loss of steering.
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had been thwarted by poor weather, and further actions had led to the capture of more prisoners, the survivors were released on the tiny island of
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s broadcast warnings required that the
Germans clear the area quickly, before allied aircraft arrived. Although she was clearly afire and sinking,
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The interception had been made in the dark and the German ships were unsure of what they had found, believing that it was probably a
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Sixteen people, eight passengers and eight crew, died as a result of the action, including those who died later of their injuries.
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nurses, Polish sailors, servicemen and Radar technicians. The captain was Lionel Upton, a naval reservist who had been awarded the
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373:, had been stopped and sunk by the German raiders on 24 November, but warning of the danger had not been passed on to
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400:-sized warship. Their attack was made on the basis it was the tactic most likely to allow their own escape.
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followed a brief period of confusion. One German raider, suffering steering problems, sailed directly at
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for his "services in action with enemy submarines" in his command of auxiliary boats based at
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for their selflessness in rescuing and caring for survivors. Prize crews took control of
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347:. She was intercepted early on the morning of 27 November 300 miles east of
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590 passengers in 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes (100, 80 & 410, respectively)
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659:, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
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in the early afternoon of Sunday 24 November 1940, en route to
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377:. This was later held to have been a factor in her sinking.
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was armed with a 4.7-inch gun and 40 rounds of ammunition.
300:), turning twin propellers. In wartime, they carried only
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to stop and not to transmit anything. Following standard
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was one of the largest passenger liners to be sunk in
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listed quickly to port and sank at 6:30 am. The
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Military history of New
Zealand during World War II
1026:
728:
723:Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1940
1164:World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom
230:4.7 inch gun, 76.2mm machine gun, light AA guns
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8:
1169:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
281:The three ships each measured about 16,700
266:) delivered to the company in 1929 for the
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1154:Ships of the New Zealand Shipping Company
199:Brown-Sulzer engines driving twin screws
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136:Sunk 27 November 1940 by German raiders
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1159:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
188:9,300 hp (6,900 kW), 2,186
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597:. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust
1184:Maritime incidents in November 1940
657:Australian Dictionary of Biography
625:New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
292:with a total output of 9,300
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630:Victoria University of Wellington
270:between Britain and New Zealand.
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653:"Doris Anne Beeston (1897–1940)"
47:
32:
1174:Ships built on the River Clyde
351:by the German surface raiders
1:
620:"Holmwood and Rangitane Sunk"
278:and launched on 27 May 1929.
426:Released prisoners on Emirau
248:New Zealand Shipping Company
164:531.0 ft (161.8 m)
76:New Zealand Shipping Company
455:fired a single torpedo and
323:Distinguished Service Cross
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180:38.1 ft (11.6 m)
172:70.2 ft (21.4 m)
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140:
40:
31:
276:John Brown & Company
254:(the other sisters were
102:John Brown & Company
799:Comandante Faà di Bruno
363:and their support ship
250:. She was one of three
141:General characteristics
686:Rangitane (ship, 1929)
569:"MV Rangitane (+1940)"
544:"The Rangitane Riddle"
427:
380:The Germans signalled
304:. On her final voyage
688:at Wikimedia Commons
542:Bell, Trevor (2012).
470:, civil registration
436:British Empire Medals
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93:Britain – New Zealand
595:Scottish Built Ships
369:. Another ship, SS
283:gross register tons
212:"substantial" cargo
498:camps in Germany.
494:and eventually to
432:Doris Anne Beeston
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302:defensive armament
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900:William B. Davock
684:Media related to
415:being taken as a
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741:Empire Bison
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506:World War II
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296:(6,900
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252:sister ships
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149:16,712
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984:Port Napier
768:4 Nov: HMS
758:3 Nov: HMS
663:12 November
591:"Rangitane"
571:. Wrecksite
478:release at
465:flying boat
349:New Zealand
120:27 May 1929
109:Yard number
1179:1929 ships
1143:Categories
929:HMAS
788:Jervis Bay
781:Beaverford
730:Shipwrecks
575:5 December
553:12 January
512:References
488:New Guinea
366:Kulmerland
327:Scapa Flow
196:Propulsion
1082:HMS
1000:St. Elwyn
990:Rangitane
982:HMS
950:HMT
931:Goorangai
910:Trebartha
870:Automedon
822:Swordfish
820:HMS
809:Cambridge
786:HMS
771:Patroclus
761:Laurentic
601:17 August
502:Rangitane
457:Rangitane
446:Rangitane
440:Rangitane
413:Rangitane
406:Rangitane
391:Rangitane
386:Admiralty
382:Rangitane
375:Rangitane
333:Rangitane
306:Rangitane
272:Rangitane
263:Rangitiki
257:Rangitata
239:Rangitane
125:Completed
104:, Glasgow
66:Rangitane
1080:29 Nov:
1070:28 Nov:
997:28 Nov:
974:27 Nov:
967:disaster
959:25 Nov:
952:Amethyst
948:24 Nov:
938:22 Nov:
927:20 Nov:
917:16 Nov:
907:12 Nov:
888:Littorio
861:11 Nov:
815:Poncelet
492:Bordeaux
468:Aotearoa
371:Holmwood
343:via the
227:Armament
204:Capacity
117:Launched
85:Plymouth
1084:Javelin
1073:Maasdam
1060:8 Nov:
1050:5 Nov:
1034:1 Nov:
894:Novadoc
851:9 Nov:
829:8 Nov:
806:7 Nov:
796:6 Nov:
778:5 Nov:
748:2 Nov:
738:1 Nov:
636:7 March
398:cruiser
341:Britain
312:Sinking
146:Tonnage
98:Builder
41:History
1037:Bremse
1010:Quarto
962:Patria
876:Duilio
632:. 2008
486:, off
484:Emirau
472:ZK-AMA
463:class
287:Sulzer
242:was a
161:Length
1043:Donau
1016:U-104
480:Nauru
453:Komet
449:'
417:prize
409:'
360:Orion
354:Komet
335:left
177:Depth
90:Route
72:Owner
1113:1941
1105:1940
1097:1939
941:Cree
844:O 22
751:U-31
665:2023
638:2010
603:2022
577:2013
555:2013
357:and
319:CORB
260:and
219:Crew
169:Beam
133:Fate
62:Name
977:Elk
237:MS
222:200
190:NHP
155:NRT
151:GRT
112:522
1145::
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784:,
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628:.
622:.
611:^
593:.
546:.
520:^
508:.
298:kW
294:hp
969:)
965:(
716:e
709:t
702:v
640:.
605:.
579:.
557:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
