Details of story of sinking of Italian coaster SS Scillin by HM Submarine Sahib outlined in Sheppey families past and present

HM SUBMARINE SAHIB

Sahib   Class S3  Pennant no.P212 48  built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead   sunk 24-Apr-43

Lt. J.H. Bromage; 13 Nov 42, sank the Italian transport Scillin, 1903 tons. Scillin was transporting Allied prisoners of war, of  whom many drowned including Serjeant Bert Dummmott 11(HAC) RHA of Sheerness Kent 21 Jan 43, torpedoed and sank German s/m U-301 west of Bonifacio. There was one survivor from U-301. 24 Apr 43, sank the Italian transport Galiola, 1428 tons, off northeast Sicily. Counter-attacked by Italians off Cape Milazzo after broaching the surface. Fired on by a German Ju-88 aircraft and attacked by depth charges from Italian corvettes Gabbiano, Climene (which was sunk four days later by HMS Unshaken) and Euterpe. At about 0545, Sahib came under heavy depth charge attack resulting in the pressure hull being holed at the after ends. With no way of repairing the damage, the order to abandon ship was given. The submarine surfaced, meeting a machine gun attack from the waiting aircraft and escorts. As the crew left, Sahib was scuttled in position 38.30N 15.15E. One of the  crew was wounded and died on 3 May 43.

Part chapter of book by Bob Harding 8 Trevore Herbert Rd New Milton BH25 6BX phone 01425617029Start of Chapter 10: The Boat

"Three days locked in a cargo hold
In cold, wet, filth and more.
And when we reached Palermo Bay
We took dead Tom ashore.

The Italians were not fussy about how they transported prisoners from Libya to Italy. Often tramp steamers, which transported coal, munitions and war materials to Tripoli, were used to take live cargoes on the return trip. On these occasions, little regard was shown for the comfort of or safety of the Prisoners of War, who were treated little better than animals. So it was with both those on The Scillin and, later, those of us on the final convoy to leave Tripoli.
How very, very, fortunate I was not to have remained with the main body of prisoners who, on the 15th November, 1942, were taken to the Spanish Mole at Tripoli Harbour... On arrival they saw several ships at berth by the quay. One of these was a small coal-burning steamer of only 1,600 tons. This was the SS Scillin. After being kept standing on the quay for several hours, the prisoners were ordered to board the Scillin. Once on the deck, they were directed to the main hold from where two ladders led down into the dark. The hold was really only large enough to take about 300 men, if they were to be allowed to lie down during the three days of travel. But this did not deter the Italians. Although Captain Gilbert protested, more and more men were sent down the ladders. When 810 prisoners had been loaded, a halt was called. The men were then so tightly packed that no one could lie down...The boat finally sailed on the evening of 15th November. Either that night or shortly afterwards, the Scillin was attacked by a British submarine at about 20:30 hours. At that time Captain Gilbert was on deck treating some fifteen of the most seriously ill prisoners. Suddenly, out of the darkness, came a shell, which burst on the superstructure of the cargo boat. A second shell caused casualties. Then there was a violent explosion as a torpedo struck the Scillin in the hold carrying the prisoners. All on deck were thrown into the sea. Those below had no chance at all to escape. Captain Gilbert (the medical officer), Staff Sergeant Regester (a South African) and others were in the water for several minutes. The boat had sunk. Then the submarine, HMS Sahib or P212, came out of the darkness and began to pick up survivors. Reports from the submarine crew tell a little of what happened then. The captain, Lieutenant Bromage, and his men were astonished and deeply shocked to find so many men in the water. One crew member is said to have shouted,Any Englishmen in the water? Back came the reply, Nae, but there is a Scotsman The rescue went on for about half an hour before the Sahib was forced to retreat as an escort vessel approached. During that time 26 British and 35 Italians were rescued. Bromage and his crew were most upset by what had happened. However, the Scillin had been unmarked, in total darkness and had been carrying enemy materials." Later the Captain was absolved from all blame (one of the widows known to my mother (widow of Bert Dummott) said Not by me)

SS SCILLIN (November 14, 1942)

Italian cargo/passenger ship en route from Tripoli to Sicily with about 815 Commonwealth prisoners-of-war on board, was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS Sahib (Lt. John Bromage) 10 miles north of Cape Milazzo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Sahib rescued 27 POW's from the water (26 British and one South African) and only then, when the commander heard the survivors speaking English, did he realize that he had sunk a ship carrying British prisoners-of-war and had drowned 787 men. Also saved were 35 members of the Italian crew. At a subsequent inquiry into this 'friendly fire' tragedy, Lt. Bromage was cleared of any wrongdoing. At the time he firmly believed that the ship was carrying Italian troops. The Ministry of Defence kept this incident a closely guarded secret for fifty four years, telling relatives a pack of lies, maintaining that they had died while prisoners-of-war in Italian camps. It was not until 1996, after repeated requests for information from the families of the drowned men that the truth came out. The Sahib was attacked by bombs from escort German Ju-88s and depth charges from the Italian corvette Gabbiano in the counter attack immediately after the sinking. Badly damaged, the Sahib was later abandoned and scuttled.

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Brian Sims has conspiracy theory
'Proof that PoWs were killed to protect secret'
In one of the worst 'friendly fire' incidents recorded, 787 allied prisoners-of-war died. They will be

remembered next week. Mark Summers reports.
WERE more than 700 British and Common-wealth prisoners of war sacrificed to protect the intelligence secret that helped win the Second World War?
A historian believes he has uncovered evidence that proves one of the worst "friendly fire" incidents could have been avoided. A total of 76 servicemen from the North-East lost their lives when a British submarine - HMS Sahib - torpedoed the SS Scillin, an Italian ship packed with prisoners of war. The Scillin was attacked in the Mediterranean as it sailed towards Italy. Aboard were 810 British and Commonwealth  prisoners. According to the official version of events, celebrations at the destruction of an Axis ship turned to horror when men on the sub realised they had condemned their own soldiers to death. The Sahib rescued 27 PoWs from the sea (26 British and one South African), but it was only when the commander heard the survivors speaking English that he realised what had happened. At a subsequent Ministry of Defence (MoD) inquiry he was cleared of all blame.
He said that, at the time, he believed the Scillin was transporting Italian troops.The MoD kept the incident a closely- guarded secret for decades. Relatives of the men who died believed they had perished in an Italian PoW camp.It was not until 1996, after repeated requests for information from families of the victims, that the truth came out. Now, Lincolnshire author Brian Sims believes he has uncovered evidence that points to an even bigger conspiracy. Mr Sims, whose father was one of the victims of the sinking, has uncovered documents in the Public Records Office showing that naval chiefs knew in advance that the ships were carrying PoWs.
               Mr Sims, a retired pit deputy, whose father William, was in the Royal Signals Corps, says the men were killed to conceal the fact the British had cracked the complex codes used by Axis forces in their radio messages. The Enigma code-breakers based at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, were crucial to the Allied victory, giving vital information about the enemy's plans. This meant the MoD knew of the Scillin�s cargo, but the information was never passed to the commander of HMS Sahib. A tree planting and plaque unveiling will take place at the National Arboretum at Alrewas, near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, on Tuesday.
Mr Sims and another victim's son, Ron Graham, of Wiltshire, hope the relatives of some of the North-East victims - who were in the Durham Light Infantry - will attend the ceremony.
Mr Sims said: "The only logical answer for the sinking was the protection of Ultra intelligence, no other answer is possible. �Until 1992, when I found what had happened, my father was still officially missing, presumed dead, even though the authorities knew. The plaque says that these men were sacrificed."

I found this on a  web site about Italian losses at sea which I found interesting.

One of the Italian soldiers lost on the Scillin

18) Volini Michele
Nato a Trivigno il 30 novembre 1916 da Rocco Luigi e da Gaetana De Grazia. Appartenente al C.M.S.S. con il grado di Caporale Maggiore. Per rientrare in patria il 13-11-1942 s'imbarc� a Tripoli sul piroscafo Scillin, che fu affondato da un sommergibile inglese nello stretto di Sicilia. Scomparso in mare, la Commissione Interministeriale per la formazione di atti di morte, lo ha dichiarato deceduto

Machine translation from website

18) Volini Michele
Been born to Trivigno 30 November from Rocco Luigi and Gaetana 1916 De Grace. Pertaining to the C.M.S.S. with the degree of Greater Corporal. In order to re-enter in native land the 13-11-1942 s' it embarked to Tripoli on the Scillin steamboat, that it was sunk from an English submarine in the strait of Sicily. Scomparso in sea, the Interdepartmental Commission for the formation of death certificates, has declared it passed away.

The career of Lt. Cdr John Henry Bromage R.N.

!

Bromage,
John Henry

b.18.08.1915
-
d.06.1992
Okehampton, Devon

Another view of THE TRAGIC SINKING OF SS SCILLIN - "Friendly Fire" (includes research information by Brian Sims see above)
When the Tobruk garrison in North Africa capitulated in the face of Rommel’s advance in June 1942 the 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment were amongst those taken prisoner.  Most of the officers were flown to Italy within a short time of capture, but the other ranks were moved westwards through a succession of camps for 800 miles during the next five months, before being shipped across to POW camps in Italy from Tripoli.   At first the prisoners were held in a hurriedly-constructed cage on the Bardia road, just past the NAAFI, which the Germans kept enlarging with posts and wire as the need arose.  In the first couple of days food and water were short, particularly water, but then water was brought up in 40 gallon drums.  Most prisoners felt that the Germans did their best in the circumstances, but some felt that more of the large quantities of British I rations captured could have been supplied to them.
On the night of 13th November 1942 the Italian transport ship SS Scillin was en route from Tripoli to Sicily with about 815 Commonwealth prisoners-of-war on board (including some 1st Battalion Worcestershire men) and some 200 Italian soldiers. The conditions in the hold were terrible. It was so over crowded that no-one could lie down.  About half the men had dysentery and a great many were seasick.  The only air and light came in through a small hatch.  It was kept open during the day and battened down at night.
The ship sailed from Tripoli on a northerly course, keeping close to the shore.  At 1929 hours on the 14th November 1942, she was sighted off Cape Bon ,some 10 miles north of Cape Milazzo in the Tyrrhenian Sea, by the British submarine HMS Sahib (P212), commanded by Lieutenant John Bromage.  The HMS Sahib (P212), part of a patrol line of 10 submarines deployed to intercept the enemy main fleet if it attempted to interfere with the Allied landings in Algeria (Operation TORCH). The submarine was on the surface and, as the target was an unarmed coastal ship, opened fire with her 3 inch gun, scoring 10 hits from 12 shots.  At the time the SS Scillin seemed be heading towards Africa and carried no sign or flag and as the submarine's orders were that only African-bound ships were to be torpedoed.	HMS Sahib (P212)
The SS Scillin continued to ignored the warning and sent a wireless transmission that it was under attack.  At 19.50 hours HMS Sahib fired a torpedo hitting the SS Scillin engine room and the ship sank by the stern in under a minute. HMS Sahib then proceeded to the scene to pick up survivors, and the crew were horrified to hear shouts of “British Prisoners of War” from the water.  In the next 35 minutes she picked up 27 prisoners of war (26 British and one South African) and 35 Italian crew, but was forced to break off the action on the approach of an anti-submarine vessel.  The survivors later reported that before the SS Scillin was torpedoed the prisoners attempted to remove the boards over the hatches in order to get on deck, but the Italian guards forced most of them back into the hold, from which they had no chance of escape when the torpedo struck. Most of the British POW's died instantly when the torpedo blew the bottom of the hold in which the British prisoners were herded. At a subsequent inquiry into this 'friendly fire' tragedy, Lieutenant John Bromage was cleared of any wrongdoing.  At the time he firmly believed that the ship was carrying Italian troops.  The Ministry of Defence kept this incident a closely guarded secret for fifty four years, telling relatives a pack of lies, maintaining that they had died while prisoners-of-war in Italian camps.  It was not until 1996, after repeated requests for information from the families of the drowned men that the truth came out.  The submarine HMS Sahib was attacked by bombs from escort German JU-88's and depth charges from the Italian corvette Gabbiano in the counter attack immediately after the sinking.  Badly damaged, the HMS Sahib was later abandoned and scuttled. During investigations it was found that the SS Scillin had no life-belts or life-boats and the hatch had been battened down.  However, the charge of the murder of 783 prisoners was dropped in January 1947 due to lack of evidence.             SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2 by Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd) (c) 2006   HMS SAHIB - S-class Submarine return to Contents List  or back to Naval-History.Net   above left  - (click photographs for enlargements)     H. M.     S A H I B   (P212 - Ex (P62)) B a t t l e   H o n o u r s MEDITERRANEAN 1943 On completion in May 1942 this submarine was deployed in Home waters and carried out a patrol off Norway during which she was part of the protection provided for the ill-fated Convoy PQ17 which was scattered after a perceived threat from the German battleship TIRPITZ. By September of that year she had been transferred to the Mediterranean and sank a supply ship during an early patrol before supporting the allied landings in North Africa to prevent interference by Italian warships. On 11th November she sank an Italian ship carrying Prisoners of War due to a tragic misunderstanding. In 1943 she continued interception patrols in the Mediterranean sinking three supply ships and the German submarine U301 on 21st January. After attacking a convoy off Sicily in April 1943 she came under counter attacks and sustained major damage making it necessary to scuttle the submarine. Her Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Bromage RN.     Name: HMS Sahib     Ordered: HMS Sahib     Builder: Cammel Laird Birkenhead Career   Laid down: 5 July 1940     Launched: January 19, 1942     Commissioned: 13 May 1942     Fate: Sunk April 24, 1943     General characteristics     Displacement: 814-872 tons surfaced 990 tons submerged     Length: 217 ft (66 m)     Beam: 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)     Draught: 11 ft (3.4 m)     Speed: 14.75 knots surfaced 8 knots submerged     Complement: 48 officers and men   Armament: 6 x forward 21-inch torpedo tubes, one aft 13 torpedoes one three-inch gun (four-inch on later boats) one 20 mm cannon three .303-calibre machine gun