Video: 'Sinking Of The Rms Lady Hawkins'

(Monday, January 19, 1942, 7:43 a.m. EST; during the Battle of the Atlantic, part of World War II) — German submarine U-66 sank the Canadian ocean liner RMS Lady Hawkins this morning off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, killing 251 people.

The ship was sailing unescorted about 150 nautical miles off Cape Hatteras, taking a zigzag course to make her more difficult to hit, when U-66 commanded by Korvettenkapitän Robert-Richard Zapp hit her with two stern-launched torpedoes.

The liner sank in about 30 minutes. 71 people survived.