Galatea was one of two ships of her class lost during the Second World War. Off Alexandria in December 1941, U-557 torpedoed her and killed most of the crew. Escorting destroyers rescued about one hundred men from a complement placed near 570, while Captain Sim was among those killed. Less than forty-eight hours later, the German submarine was itself lost to the Italian torpedo boat Orione. A brief joke links Orione with the Royal Navy cruiser Orion because the Leander and Arethusa classes were distant design relatives that shared a turret design. Both ships were gone within two days, even though Galatea's sinking had seemed a major success for the U-boat.
Chapter · 12:08-13:57
Galatea, U-557, and two losses in forty-eight hours
U-557 sank Galatea off Alexandria with most of her crew, then was itself lost to the Italian torpedo boat Orione less than two days later.