Season 1
2011 | 2 Episodes
Six hundred miles from the coast of Africa, in September 1942, a German U-boat, U-156, sinks the British troopship Laconia carrying 1,800 Italian POWs, 80 British civilians, and 268 Polish and British soldiers. After realising that there were POWs and civilians on-board, and that they are facing certain death without rescue, U-Boat Commander Werner Hartenstein (Duken) makes a decision goes against the orders of Nazi high command. The U-boat surfaces and Hartenstein instructs his men to save as many of the shipwrecked survivors as they can. Over the next few days U-156 saved 400 people, with 200 people crammed on board the surface-level submarine and another 200 in lifeboats. Hartenstein gave orders for messages to be sent out to the Allies to organise a rescue of the survivors, but they were spotted by American B-24 Liberator bombers which moved in to attack. The Sinking of the Laconia takes a look at the human side of the remarkable events that took place: the friendships that developed, the small acts of heroism, and the triumph of the human spirit in the most incredible of situations.
Country: United Kingdom
Type: scripted
Status: Ended
Language: English, German
Release Date: January 6, 2011
Also Known As: A Laconia elsüllyesztése, LaconiaZatopienie Laconii, Sänkningen av Laconia, ラコニア号 知られざる戦火の奇跡, 拉科尼亞號的沉沒, The Sinking of the Laconia, Naufrage du Laconia, Крушение Лаконии, Le naufrage du Laconia, Cum s-a scufundat Laconia, L'affondamento del Laconia - 12 settembre 1942, Uボート156 海狼たちの決断』または『ラコニア号 知られざる戦火の奇跡, Laconia, el hundimiento, Sinking of the Laconia | See more »
Production Co: Talkback Thames, Two Oceans Production (TOP), teamWorx Television & Film
2011 | 2 Episodes
Nominee
BAFTA TV Award
Best Drama Serial
Nominee
Golden Nymph
Mini-Series - Best Performance by an Actor