Is This The Greatest Naval Battle in History?

Is This The Greatest Battle in History?

Because at the start of WW1 the Germans came up with a genius plan. They took one of their civilian ocean liners, the SS Cap Trafalgar and added 2x 4.1 inch guns and 6 37mm pom poms to it. But that wasn’t all because they also removed one of its funnels and painted it to look exactly like a British merchant vessel, the RMS Carmania.

The hope was that this disguise would allow it to get close to other British Merchant ships making it easier to sink them.

But this turned out to be a terrible idea because in 1944 (14th of September), just off the cost of Trindade Island, the real RMS Carmania spotted the The disguised Cap Trafalgar and as luck would have it, the real RMS Carmania had been enlisted into a British military service with the addition of 8x 4.7 inch naval guns.

So it’s safe to say when both ships saw each other they were rather confused

Over the next two hours the ships shell the shit out of each other. The Carmania initially looks like it’s loosing, being hit 79 times and having it’s bridge destroyed. But as they get closer the Carmania lands a few critical hits on the Trafalgar below the waterline and all of a sudden it drops it’s life boats and starts to sink. The British had won.

they both immediately steamed away from each other to gain distance and then started to open fire. Over the following two hours the real Carmania received a beating being hit 79 times, destroying it’s bridge. But as the ships got closer and closer the Carmania got its own back, setting the Cap Trafalgar on fire and rupturing several compartments below the waterline.

Suddenly the Trafalgar started to lower its life boats and sink. But the Carmania was on it’s last legs and before they could celebrate the SS Kronprinz arrived as backup. The British were surely screwed. But just as they were awaiting their mortal blow, the Kronprinz turned around and sailed away, as they feared more British ships were about to arrive. In the end 51 German and 9 British sailors died during the battle but the Carmania did eventually make it to safety.