The 11,500 ton passenger ship Leopoldville was launched in 1927 at the John Cockerill S.A. Shipyard in Hoboken Belgium. Up until the second world war broke out she was used to carry passengers and goods to Congo. When the War broke out she was commissioned as a troop carrying ship, with some modifications and the fitting of necessary armament.
During a 4 year period from May 1940 until December 1944 she covered some 219,949 miles and transported 120,000 American soldiers to aid in the battle for Europe. On the 24th December 1944 at 0900 the Leopoldville left Southampton carrying 2,235 troops of the 66th Infantry division to Cherbourg. As the Leopoldville approached Cherbourg the U-486 laid in wait the U boat was equipped with a snorkel so was able to stay under the water and out of site to all on board. The U boat fired a torpedo and struck the port side of the Leopoldville, the damage caused was enormous.
An SOS was sent out and several ships came to the rescue. HMS Brilliant came along side the Leopoldville to extract the ships passengers and crew however many lives were lost due to the rough conditions causing the jumping men to miss and fall down into the icy water.
Seven Hundred and Sixty Three men died that night. The Supreme commander tried to keep everything quite in order to to keep up moral of the troops. Only in 1996 did the British Admiralty release documents that detailed what exactly happened. Since then a memorial has been erected at Fort Benning in the USA.
The Leopoldville now lies on her side in 60m, 5 miles from Cherbourg. She is still very much in tact and makes a cracking dive
For underwater video footage click on the link bellow.
