rhona mystery

[markieboy]

I understand the british troopship rhona sank and endured the worst shipping casualty numbers of the second world war. A colleague claims the ship was subsequently raised and removed, can anyone confirm or deny this occurence

[delboy3]

The Rohna was sunk on 26 November 1943 off the northern coast of Africa, killing 1,117 on board. This figure means that it was in no way the worst shipping incident of WW2 - that dubious record belongs to the Wilhelm Gustloff, torpedoed in the Baltic Sea in January 1945 with at least 7,000 (or maybe as many as 10,000) killed, the worst maritime disaster ever. There indeed was some national security issue surrounding the Rohna, which is why the sinking was kept hush-hush for a few years, but I don't know if it was ever salvaged from the sea bed.

For info on all major WW2 ship disasters, see http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/facts.html

[Octavius]

If it has it hasn't been publicised.

 

According to reports out now (as details were classified for 50 years - see History Channel: WWII's Secret Tragedy) the location has not been disclosed since 1943 and devastation was so bad that it is unlikely there is much left to salvage.

[Octavius]

Families of the victims of HMT Rohna (most were US troops) have their own website:

 

http://www.rohna.org/