Abandon Ship! by Michael J. Tougias

Author:Michael J. Tougias [Tougias, Michael J. and O’Leary, Alison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2023-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Despite the seeming safety of the shipwreck refugees on the Gloire, more drama was unfolding. Back on Ascension Island, Captain Robert Richardson’s pilots had seen the French ships, and British military in Freetown confirmed the ships had left the African mainland.

Richardson summoned his aircrew and began planning an attack.

On September 17, the day that the German submarines U-506 and U-507 were transferring people to the French ships, Richardson was in a B-24 that he flew over from Ascension. Staying clear of the big ship’s antiaircraft guns, he claimed to observe the scene. He noted there was a German submarine floating close to the ship.

The next day, Richardson said he pulled together a squadron of attack aircraft, including a B-30 heavy bomber and some B-24s. He planned to attack Gloire. Witnessing the ship’s cooperation with the U-boats automatically made the Vichy French an enemy, Richardson believed. He was sure they were only there to rescue Italians—and perhaps Germans who fled a sunken submarine.

As the bomber pilots were preparing their planes and checking their equipment for the mission to attack Gloire, Richardson informed US Navy intelligence about his plans. He was surprised when they told him to stand down.

Richardson’s aircrews were forced to drop their plans to bomb Gloire.

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