Nova Scotia carried Italian prisoners of war, civilian internees, guards, and crew toward Durban when U-177 struck her with three torpedoes. The ship rolled, burned, and sank within ten minutes, leaving most people on rafts or wreckage in shark-filled water. After surfacing to identify survivors, U-177 sought instructions and was ordered under the recently issued Laconia policy to leave the scene. A Portuguese vessel arrived the next day, but 858 people died before the surviving groups were recovered. U-177's own third major patrol ended in February 1944 when an American Liberator sank her and USS Omaha recovered the surviving crew.
Chapter · 1:01:01-1:05:57
Nova Scotia, U-177, and the human cost of the Laconia Order
U-177 sinks the unescorted Nova Scotia in the Mozambique Channel, leaving prisoners and civilians exposed while rescue is delayed by orders not to assist.