Home / Series / History of the Royal Navy / Aired Order / Season 1 / Episode 6

HMS Dasher

HMS Dasher, It came without any warning. On Saturday, March 27th, 1943, the HMS Dasher, a British aircraft carrier, had completed two days of take off and landing exercises and was steaming to port just an hour and a half away.Suddenly, there was a terrific explosion, shaking the ship and propelling the two-ton landing crane 60 feet into the air. Within minutes, the Dasher was sinking rapidly at the stern and the crew of 528 men were struggling to survive. The fate of the carrier has been shrouded in secrecy for over half a century and, even today, many of the families of the 379 men who perished do not know what happened. What is clear is that the survivors, floating in the cold water awaiting rescue from the many ships steaming toward them, were engulfed in flames as the sea, coated in diesel and aviation fuel, caught fire, killing most men and complicating the rescue. Drawing on the memories of survivors and evidence from the wreck, DISASTER AT SEA challenges the official reports and exposes schemes of secrecy

English
  • Originally Aired December 31, 2002
  • Runtime 45 minutes
  • Network History
  • Created October 9, 2015 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified October 9, 2015 by
    Administrator admin