The Belgian transport ship SS LEOPOLDVILLE, a 11,500 long tons (11,700) passenger liner converted for use as a troopship in the Second World War, was struck by a torpedo fired from U-486 in the English Channel approximately five miles from the coast of Cherbourg, France, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1944. This tragedy happened less than five months before the end of the war in Europe. As a result, 802 solders died. This has been considered the second greatest maritime disaster in history, yet the details of this incedent was kept secret for 50 years. No sea disaster in history has ever recieved less publicity. It was as though the LEOPOLDVILLE and 802 men of the 66th never existed.
The Belgian transport ship SS LEOPOLDVILLE, a 11,500 long tons (11,700) passenger liner converted for use as a troopship in the Second World War, was struck by a torpedo fired from U-486 in the English Channel approximately five miles from the coast of Cherbourg, France, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1944. This tragedy happened less than five months before the end of the war in Europe. As a result, 802 solders died. This has been considered the second greatest maritime disaster in history, yet the details of this incedent was kept secret for 50 years. No sea disaster in history has ever recieved less publicity. It was as though the LEOPOLDVILLE and 802 men of the 66th never existed.
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