Further to this interesting article, should anyone wish to research WW2 convoys, including those to India, there is a fine site based on original research by the noted naval historian (of WW2) Arnold Hague, now sadly deceased: http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/hague/index.html Chris ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar" <bosham@gmail.com> To: <india-british-raj@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 5:39 PM Subject: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Sinking of the "Rohna"- A virtually unknownWWII tragedy > Sinking of the "Rohna"-A virtually unknown WWII tragedy > > Few people have ever heard about the sinking of the Rohna, or the 1,105 > American soldiers who died in the worst at-sea disaster in U.S. history. > > But Charles "Dutch" Beard, a retiree from the U.S. Army Corps of > Engineers, > has not forgotten. He was on the Rohna when a German guided missile > sank her during World War II. > > The HMT (Her Majesty's Transport) Rohna was a dilapidated old British > merchant vessel converted to troopship. She sailed from Oran, Algeria, > bound for Bombay, India, carrying 1,981 U.S. soldiers, including Beard, > a young lieutenant in the 853rd Aviation Battalion. The Rohna also > carried seven Red Cross personnel, and 195 Indian crewmen and British > officers. > > The Rohna was part of convoy KMF-26. On Nov. 26, 1943, about 30 > Luftwaffe bombers attacked the convoy. Several of the Hinkel 177 > long-range bombers carried two Hs293 remote-controlled glider bombs, > one under each wing. The Hs293 was, in effect, the first air-launched > cruise missile. A rocket engine launched the bomb away from the > bomber, then it glided toward its target under remote (radio) control. > One of these weapons struck the Rohna on its port side just above the > waterline, the first successful war-strike by such a weapon. [snip] > >>From - November 2000 Engineer > Full text at - http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/pubs/nov00/story6.htm > > ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar > Nagpur, India > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG. > Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.16/1430 - Release Date: > 13/05/2008 07:31 > >