RMS Nova Scotia
On 28 November 1942, Afonso de Albuquerque was in Lourenço Marques when the German submarine U-177 torpedoed and sank the British troop ship Nova Scotia off the coast of Natal Province, South Africa. Nova Scotia had 1,052 people aboard, most of them Italian prisoners of war or civilian internees, but in accordance with the Laconia Order that Admiral Dönitz had issued two months previously U-177 left the scene without rescuing survivors. Instead the German Befehlshaber der U-Boote (BdU) requested help from the Portuguese authorities, who sent Afonso de Albuquerque to the scene. The frigate reached the position the next day, by which time survivors who were in the water had either drowned or been eaten by sharks.
Five survivors fired a distress flare and were rescued by the frigate. The next day Afonso de Albuquerque found herself surrounded by hundreds of floating corpses. In all the frigate rescued 130 Italian internees, 42 guards, 17 crew members, three military and naval personnel, one DEMS gunner and one passenger. 858 people were lost: 650 Italian internees, 96 crew members, 88 South African guards, 10 DEMS gunners, eight military and naval personnel, five passengers, and Nova Scotia's master.
Read more about this topic: NRP Afonso De Albuquerque