The subsequent inquiry report remained unseen and unopened in military archives for 33 years. Next-of-kin could not discover what had happened to their loved ones. ![]() Then, the British Admiralty slapped a top-secret order on the circumstances surrounding the incident off the coast of Libya. These setbacks received widespread attention at the time, and the British Admiralty promptly informed next of kin what had happened to their loved ones.Īfter the sinking of HMS Neptune, the casualty Reporting Office of the Royal Navy in Devonport, England, sent the usual cryptic messages to next of kin over the Christmas holiday of 1941. The sinking of the formidable HMS Prince of Wales by Japanese torpedo planes in the South China Sea on December 10 of the same year had a similar impact. Other disasters like the loss of the battlecruiser Hood on May 24, 1941, with the death of over 1400 sailors, caused a crisis of morale amongst the British people. ![]() For many years thereafter, the fate of the battleship and its crew remained shrouded in mystery. In the early morning hours of Saturday, December 19, 1941, one of the worst disasters in the proud history of Britain's Royal Navy unfolded off the coast of North Africa when HMS Neptune fell victim to an enemy minefield. HMS Neptune, lead cruiser of the Royal Navy's Force K, stationed at Malta in 1941
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