On June 27, 1918 one of the most despicably attacks of the first world war took place, about 114 miles west of Fastnet Rock, Ireland the U-86 torpedoed the HMHS Llandovery Castle. The U-86, in direct violation of international law, fired on this ship, which was clearly marked with an illuminated red cross, without warning sending the ship to the bottom in about ten minuets. On board were 258 people including members of the Canadian Medical Corps., this group included 14 nurses.

As is known, the German government had already announced it would no longer give warning before sinking hospital ships so the sinking itself should have been no surprise to the public, however it is what happened next that outraged the world.

The survivors stated that most of those on board had managed to escape the ship, less those killed in the explosion. Many boats were launched, but once in the water some were overturned and even sucked under by the ship itself, the boat with the nursing sisters was capsized and all were pulled under and never came up again.

It is thought that four or five lifeboats remained undamaged and filled with people. The U-boat under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Helmut Patzig then approached a lifeboat and ordered it to come alongside. Those in the lifeboat told the U-boat crew they were pulling a man from the water, the man was probably captain R. A. Sylvester, however despite this fact, the order was backed up with a shot from a pistol and a threat to sink the lifeboat with the deck gun.

Sylvester was taken aboard the U-86 and questioned, he was put back in the boat and the U-86 moved away. Minuets later the submarine returned and ordered two other men to come aboard the submarine. They were both questioned and one was accused of being an American pilot, which was not true. In fact Patzig seemed to have some knowledge of those on board, or at least he thought he did. It appears he had received information that eight American pilots were on board, in violation of international law. In fact there were to be eight officers of the Canadian Army Medical Corps on board, but at the last minute one did not sail with them. Who ever was watching the ship may have confused the uniforms of these officers with a U.S. uniform.

The reason Patzig gave for sinking a hospital ship was the supposed American pilots, but as there were none and he apparently was satisfied of this by the men he had questioned, the men were placed back in the boat and the U-86 again moved away. Shortly thereafter the U-boat appeared to make a run at ramming the lifeboat, but because they were under sail they managed to avoid being hit by only a few feet.

Within minuets capt. Sylvester and the twenty-three others in his boat heard gunfire, not from a pistol but from the deck gun, the submarine was firing on the other lifeboats! At least that is believed to be what happened, unfortunately they were out of visual range of Sylvester and the others. The sound of 15 to 20 rounds were heard and then there was silence and the U-86 left the area.

On June 29 the HMS Lysander found the one and only lifeboat with Sylvester and the others, they told her commander what had happened and a search was immediately conducted. No less than five ships were sent to search for survivors, HMS Snowdrop and four American destroyers, Snowdrop found a lifeboat which was empty but had been occupied, it was later decided this was the boat that the original 24 survivors were removed from. Nothing else was ever found, no lifeboats, no bodies, nothing. The remaining two hundred and thirty four, including all fourteen nurses were killed.

A trial conducted in Leipzig after the war found two of the U-boat's officers guilty of war crimes and sentenced them to four years in prison, two years later they escaped. Patzig, was not tried as he had fled to Danzig and was out of the jurisdiction of the court. However I believe he was put on trial sometime later, but for political reasons the trial was stopped and he apparently faced no further charges, but the details of his later life are unclear.

One of the conclusions of the court was that Patzig wanted to erase all evidence that he had torpedoed a hospital ship by killing all survivors and even leaving out the details of the sinking in the boat's KTB. It is said he even went as far as to falsify his route and location to avoid being linked to the sinking. While this is all possible, the strange fact remains he left one boat untouched and he must have known that. After the U-86 tried to ram Sylvester's lifeboat it seems no further attempt was made to sink it. So the reason for this despicable act remains a mystery.