Sinking of the Empress of Britain
The big event though - not yet broadcast to the nation - is a Luftwaffe attack on the former liner and now troopship the Empress of Britain. She is found by a roving Condor about 150 miles from land, off the north-west coast of Ireland. Hptm. Bernard Jope, the aircraft captain, releases two bombs on the ship. He then strafes her, taking return fire from deck-mounted machine guns.
The bombs start large fires which soon cripple the ship. Many crew are trapped below deck by the fires, some forced to escape through portholes into the sea. A Sunderland and three Blenheims assist with the rescue. Under constant air cover from Hurricanes from No. 245 Sqn out of Aldergrove, the ship limps eastwards, only to be torpedoed by U-32 on 28 October while under tow.
Most of the 643 passengers and crew are taken off. Only 45 are killed, all passengers in the initial attack. At 42,348 grt, she is the largest liner to be sunk through the entire war. Jope is eventually to become a senior Captain with Lufthansa. U-32 is sunk by the destroyer Harvester, two days after she despatches the Empress.