U Boats To The Rescue The Laconia Incident by Leonce Peillard Hardcover Book

Title: U Boats To The Rescue The Laconia Incident by Leonce Peillard Hardcover Book.
Author: Leonce Peillard.
Translated from the French By: Oliver Coburn.
Type: WW2 Non-Fiction.
Edition: Great Britain 1963 Edition.
Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London.
Year First Published: 1961 - L'Affaire du 'Laconia'.
Format: Hardcover Book with dust jacket, with photographs.
Printed By: Alden Press, Oxford.
Page Count: 270 pages.
Width: 14.0cm
Height: 20.5cm
Thickness: 2.5cm
Info: The sinking of the Laconia on the evening of the 12th September 1942 off the West coast of Africa was one of the great dramas of the sea.
If these are matters of keen interest to the naval historian, they also reveal most vividly that the subsequent rescue operations can be regarded as being a fine example of humanitarian action in time of war.
Although these operations were carried out by no less than four German U-boats (including U.I56 which had sunk the ship), one Italian submarine and three French warships from Dakar, the rescuers methodically continued their task throughout six days, at considerable risk from hostile action.
There had been nearly 3,000 passengers and members of the crew on board the Laconia when she sailed from Port Said. 
These included details of the British armed forces and 80 women and children returning to the United Kingdom, some Polish troops and 1,800 Italian prisoners of war. There were a little more than one thousand survivors. Many of those who escaped the agonies of thirst, the merciless rays of the sun and the shark-infested seas paid tribute to their rescuers.
The finest traditions of the sea and humanity were thus upheld by all who had taken part in the rescue.
Condition: Good, all pages and binding intact, no loose pages. cover has some wear and tear, cover boards are good, some tanning and foxing front and rear papers, internally the pages are good.
Price: R 145.00 Inc Vat.