AWATEA EPIC
SAVED BY DESTROYER
Escort Ripped To Pieces By
Torpedo
N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 2 p.m. HALIFAX, June 30. They called the Awatea an unlucky ship when running troops out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, hut one incident in her transatlantic career, cloaked by censorship until now, should dispel that reputation, says the Canadian Press. The Awatea sailed for Britain in the autumn of 1942. laden with members of the Canadian Division in a convoy, which U-boats attacked on the Nova Scotian coast. An American destroyer escort saw a torpedo headed for the Awatea. A destroyer, with her engines racing, dashed fo the Awatea's side and deliberately absorbed the torpedo, which ripped the destroyer to shreds and caused so great a concussion that a hole was ripped in the bow of the Awatea, which returned to port 30 hours after her departure. This story has been passed by censorship, but it has never been confirmed officially. Several soldiers, however, aboard were later mentioned in dispatches for bravery in assisting to keep the ship afloat until she reached port. The Awatea sailed uneventfully three weeks later.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19440701.2.48
Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 154, 1 July 1944, Page 5
Word Count
185AWATEA EPIC Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 154, 1 July 1944, Page 5
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