Hunters and Hunted: The Arandora Star Tragedy in the Shadows of War
В stories World War II saw several maritime disasters resulting from U-boat attacks, claiming thousands of lives. However, such widely publicized tragedies as the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the Goya, and the Laconia overshadowed the first and one of the most widespread incidents of its kind.
Few people remember today that the first such disaster, which killed approximately 800 people, occurred back in 1940. It was then that one of Germany's most famous submarine aces inadvertently caused the deaths of hundreds of his compatriots.
From the beginning of World War II until June 1940, all German and Austrian civilians residing in Britain were classified as "foreign enemy nationals." More than 120 judicial commissions were established across the country to assess their status, and by February 1940, they had reviewed approximately 74,000 cases of potential internment involving individuals aged 16 to 70.
Based on the results of the case review, foreigners were divided into three categories:
Category A – subject to internment;
Category B – exempt from internment, but with the retention of a number of restrictions in accordance with special regulations;
Category C – exempt from both internment and most restrictions.
German and Austrian citizens deemed a threat to national security were classified as Category A and subject to detention. Internment camps were concentrated primarily on the Isle of Man, as well as in several British towns, including Huyton, Bury (near Manchester), Glasgow, Sutton Coldfield, Lingfield, Seaton, and Paignton.
Internment camp on the Isle of Man, 1943–1945.
Following the fall of France in May 1940, the British government faced the need to strengthen national security measures. The War Cabinet began discussing the deportation of internees, particularly on June 11, the day after Italy entered World War II. Prime Minister Winston Churchill informed the War Cabinet that he had instructed the Minister of Home Security to organize the deportation of internees. As a result, over 7500 people—German, Austrian, and Italian prisoners of war and civilian internees—were selected for transfer to Canada. Five ships were allocated for their transportation:
HMS Ettrick
Fate: On November 15, 1942, northwest of Gibraltar, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by one of the most successful German submarines of World War II, U-155, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Adolf-Cornelius Piening.
During her service, U-155 completed 10 combat missions, during which she achieved significant success: 25 ships with a total tonnage of 126,664 GRT were sunk, the British escort aircraft carrier HMS Avenger (13,785 tons) was destroyed, and an American auxiliary warship (6,736 GRT) was sunk.
SS Duchess of York
Fate: On July 11, 1943, the ship was damaged by an attack by German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft and sank off the coast of Morocco.
HMT Dunera
Fate: HMT Dunera's significant contribution to the Allied war effort continued after the infamous 'Internment Flight'.
The ship took an active part in key operations of the Second World War: September 1942, Madagascar (Operation Stream for the landing of British forces), the landing in Sicily in 1943 (Operation Husky), September 1944: transportation of the headquarters of the 7th US Army for the invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon).
After Japan's surrender in 1945, HMT Dunera was used to transport occupation troops to Japan, and in the postwar period, she was used to transport troops to and from the Suez Canal Zone. She was scrapped in 1967.
MS Sobieski
Fate: Used by Allied forces in several operations (Ariel/Antenna), the Battle of Dakar, the Madagascar Operation, and others. It carried the British 18th Infantry Division to Singapore.
After the war, in 1950, the ship was sold to the Soviet Union and renamed "Gruziya." As part of the Black Sea Shipping Company, based in Odessa, it served the Crimean-Caucasian route for two decades, transporting passengers between Black Sea resorts.
The ship "Georgia" in the film "The Diamond Arm"
The ship completed its long journey in April 1975, when it was sold for scrap in the Italian port of La Spezia and disposed of.
SS Arandora Star
SS Arandora Star, 1940
Most of these ships were overloaded beyond their capacity. Of particular concern was the Arandora Star, a vessel not equipped with enough lifeboats for all passengers, which later became one of the causes of the massive tragedy.
The Duchess of York sailed first, on June 24, with more than two thousand internees on board. Six days later, the Arandora Star sailed from Liverpool. On board the ship were 1213 internees, including 473 Germans (including 123 merchant seamen). fleet) and 717 Italians – about half of them belonged to category A.
On the evening of June 3, 1940, the German submarine U-47 departed the naval base in Kiel, beginning its sixth combat patrol. This sortie was an opportunity for the submarine and its commander, Günther Prien, the "Bull of Scapa Flow," to redeem themselves after the relatively unsuccessful previous patrol to the coast of Norway.
On the night of October 13–14, 1939, the German submarine U-47, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Günther Prien, carried out one of the most daring operations in the history of submarine warfare. Passing through the narrow and shallow Kirk Sound, the submarine penetrated the British naval base of Scapa Flow, considered impregnable. In a daring sortie, Prien torpedoed and sank the British battleship HMS Royal Oak. The ship's destruction claimed the lives of 833 British sailors and dealt a heavy blow to the Royal Navy.
U-47
Just three days later, on the morning of June 6, the voyage began with an unexpected episode: the crew discovered an inflatable boat at sea containing three German pilots whose bomber had been shot down by British fighters. The submariners rescued their compatriots by taking them on board.
On June 14, U-47 achieved its first success on this mission, sinking the British ship Belmoralwood, which had straggled behind the convoy and was carrying a valuable cargo of wheat and aircraft. And on June 21, south of Ireland, Prien attacked convoy HX-49, torpedoing two tankers before diving to evade counterattack.
On the morning of July 2, 1940, 75 miles west of the Atlantic coast of Ireland, while zigzagging anti-submarine warfare at 15 knots, the Arandora Star was spotted and attacked by U-47.
The torpedo strike that rocked the liner's side struck the engine room, knocking out the turbines and generators. In the ensuing chaos, the radio operator managed to broadcast a distress signal—the last hope for rescue. During the fateful 60 minutes the ship remained afloat, the crew attempted to organize an evacuation. However, the rescue efforts were paralyzed by tragic panic: while some lifeboats were overcrowded, others remained half-empty. Many Italian internees, gripped by fear, refused to leave the ship. At 09:20 a.m., the Arandora Star sank, taking with it 805 lives: 55 crew members, 37 British guards, 243 German internees, and 470 Italian civilian internees.
At approximately 4:45 on Tuesday the 2nd, I was awakened by the bugle signaling the changing of the guard. I was lying in my bunk, waiting for a cup of tea, when I was finally awakened by a jolt, the sound of glass breaking, and the lights going out. The impact didn't seem particularly hard, and at first I thought it was some minor accident in the engine room. But the sound of hurried footsteps and the alarm made me realize something had hit us. I put on my jacket and life jacket and went out on deck, where the crew and attendants were throwing rafts overboard. This turned out to be a mistake, as the ship heeled heavily, and when she finally stopped and sank, the rafts were left a considerable distance away.
Extract from the report of Captain F.J. Robertson, interpreter for Italian internees, on the sinking of the SS Star of Arandora, 1940.
In August 1940, a special commission was established to investigate the circumstances of the tragedy, chaired by Henry Snell (1st Baron Snell), a former Labour MP. His appointment underscored the importance of the investigation and the government's commitment to objectivity. The appointment of Snell, a Labour MP known for his progressive views, may have been the government's attempt to demonstrate the impartiality of the investigation, especially given the tragedy's international resonance.
The commission's work marked an important step in developing new security protocols for ships carrying internees, although many details of the investigation remained classified for a long time.
Henry Snell
In his report, Lord Snell sharply criticized the classification system for internees sent on the Arandora Star. He noted the following systemic violations: Italian internees were classified as Category A internees without individual tribunal review; formal membership in the Fascist Party served as the criterion for deportation; and no distinction was made between nominal and active party members. The commission's findings characterized the selection system as "crude and unfair," noting that it led to the tragic deaths of people who posed no threat to national security. This conclusion became an important argument for reconsidering internment policy during the remainder of the war.
The Snell Report shed light on serious shortcomings in the performance of British intelligence services and administrative bodies during wartime.
Lord Snell concluded that the government had not given clear instructions on how to select foreign nationals for posting abroad.
When the POW Office was assembling the group to sail on the STAR OF ARANDORA, they gathered together in one camp from various camps around the country 717 Italians who were supposed to be on the aforementioned list of 1500 "Category A" Italians.
11. The War Office's Prisoner of War Directorate states that subsequent investigations have revealed discrepancies; and it is now believed that perhaps 26 of the 717 Italians aboard the STAR OF ARANDORA were not actually on the Category A list. The Directorate has also suggested that some forgery may have occurred.
11. The War Office's Prisoner of War Directorate states that subsequent investigations have revealed discrepancies; and it is now believed that perhaps 26 of the 717 Italians aboard the STAR OF ARANDORA were not actually on the Category A list. The Directorate has also suggested that some forgery may have occurred.
Extract from Lord Snell's findings in his Summary of the SS Arandora Star Inquiry, 1940.
On July 3, 1940, following the tragic sinking of the Arandora Star, the British War Cabinet urgently reviewed the deportation policy for internees. New criteria for exemption from deportation were approved: men conscripted for military service, those interned by mistake, and married men whose separation would create undue hardship for their wives and children.
Despite the sinking of the Arandora Star, British authorities continued the deportation of internees. Just one day after the tragedy, on July 4, 1940, 400 unmarried Italians, not included on the list of 1500 Category A individuals, were sent to Canada on the ship HMS Ettrick along with 2600 other internees.
On July 7 of that year, a new batch of deportees followed: 1838 people were sent to Canada on the ship Sobieski. These actions demonstrated that, despite a partial revision of the internment criteria, the British government considered it necessary to continue the policy of mass deportation of individuals considered potentially dangerous in wartime conditions.
After the horror of the Arandora Star's sinking, survivors once again faced deportation. The 351 Germans and 200 Italians who survived the wreck were included on the passenger list of the last internment ship, the HMT Dunera.
On July 10, 1940, the ship departed with 2542 internees on board, out of a maximum capacity of 1500 (including crew). Instead of Canada, they were destined for a two-month "sea voyage" to Australia, which became one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of internment.
The flight marked the symbolic end of the mass deportation programme, demonstrating both the British authorities' determination to continue the policy and its extreme humanitarian fragility.
Conditions on board HMT Dunera later became the subject of a separate investigation, which revealed numerous violations in the treatment of internees.
View of Dunera on the starboard side
Upon HMT Dunera's arrival in Sydney, the first Australian to board was Medical Officer Alan Frost. What he saw shocked him: an overcrowded vessel, unsanitary conditions, and exhausted and injured crew.
His official report became the basis for disciplinary proceedings. The acting army officer, Lieutenant Colonel William Scott, who was responsible for internee transport conditions, was brought to trial.
The sinking of the Arandora Star and the inhumane conditions of transportation on the Duner caused a turning point in British public opinion. The brutality of these events led many to question the justice of the mass internment of foreigners. Under public pressure, the government was forced to reconsider its policy.
As early as August 1940, the decision was made to release 1687 internees. This move received ideological justification in the White Paper by Under-Secretary of State for the Interior Osbert Pick, titled "Civilian Internees of Enemy Nationality." The document clearly defined the categories of individuals eligible for release, including refugees from Nazism, individuals with British families, and those who posed no security threat.
By October 1940, thanks to the new policy, approximately 5000 Germans, Austrians, and Italians had been freed; by December 1940, the number of liberated people had reached 8000. These events demonstrated that even in wartime conditions, British society and government retained the capacity to reconsider mistakes and correct injustices in a humanitarian manner.
The process gained momentum: by August 1941, the number of those released had risen to 17,500, and by 1942, fewer than 5,000 internees remained on the Isle of Man – mostly committed Nazis and fascists who posed a real security threat.
The sinking of the Arandora Star marked the first time in World War II that so many civilians were killed in a submarine attack. The bitter irony of the German submarine's deaths was that German and Italian citizens on board the vessel were among those killed.
This tragedy took on a special symbolic meaning: people trapped by political circumstances died at the hands of the very force from which many of them were trying to escape. Among the dead were not only prisoners of war but also interned civilians, including refugees from the Nazi regime.
The Arandora Star incident demonstrated that war spares no one—especially those caught between the two fires. This tragedy became a grim omen of future wartime naval disasters and forced the international community to reconsider the rules of war at sea.
The Dunera Boys (1985) is an Australian two-part television film based on the true events of the deportation of approximately 2000 German and Austrian Jewish refugees by the British authorities on the overcrowded transport HMT Dunera to Australia in 1940.
Information