Laconia Incident

Follow and Wishlist our game on Steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/3606970?utm_source=0220 September 12th, 1942. Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartenstein, commander of U-156, sinks the British armed merchant cruiser RMS Laconia. Unbeknownst to him, the ship is loaded with civilians and Italian prisoners of war. As survivors struggle amidst the wreckage, the German captain declares a temporary truce and moves in to rescue them. But everything goes wrong when an American B-24 Liberator emerges from the clouds. What began as a mission of mercy collapses into a deadly fight to survive. Sources: Primary: McLoughlin, Jim, David Gibb, and Chris Bullock. “A Laconia Survivor’s Memoir.” ABC Listen, May 11, 2006. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/a-laconia-survivors-memoir/3334540 McLoughlin, Jim, and David Gibb. One Common Enemy: The Laconia Incident: A Survivor’s Memoir (Large Print 16pt). ReadHowYouWant, 2012. U-156. "Kriegstagebuch: 4. Unternehmung" [War Diary: 4th Patrol]. August 20, 1942–November 16, 1942. Record Group 242, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD. Secondary: Hood, Jean. Wreck: Extraordinary True Stories of Disaster and Heroism at Sea. Conway, 2008. Peillard, Léonce. The Laconia Affair. Bantam Books, 1983. Peillard, Léonce. U-Boats to the Rescue: The Laconia Incident. Coronet Books, 1976. Tougias, Michael J., and Alison O’Leary. Abandon Ship!: A True World War II Story of Disaster and Survival. Christy Ottaviano Books-Little Brown and Hachette, 2023. IWM. “Bawden, Edward (Oral History).” Imperial War Museums. Accessed January 28, 2026. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80004582 IWM. “Interview with Tadeusz Walczak.” Imperial War Museums. Accessed January 28, 2026. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80016864 Hit join to become a member and get exclusive perks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-f2WBfSCZiu0bOBydjot3w/join Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/yarnhub Check out our exclusive merch https://yarnhub-shop.fourthwall.com Join us on Discord https://discord.gg/yarnhub-1087778019822813334 00:00: U-156 Stalks British Cruiser 00:54: Torpedoes Sink RMS Laconia 02:44: Survivors Swim for Life 03:54: Italian Prisoners Discovered 05:12: Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartenstein Launches Rescue 08:30: Lt. James D. Harden spots Red Cross Flag 10:13: B-24 Liberator Attacks U-boat 12:02: Lifeboats Cut Loose 14:04: Survivors Drift To Land Yarnhub uses the Unreal® Engine. Unreal® is a trademark or registered trademark of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. Unreal® Engine, Copyright 1998 – 2026, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved.