September 4, 1939 in the south Atlantic HMS Ajax made her second kill of the very young war. The freighter Carl Fritzen was stopped and sunk, the crew was removed and no lives were lost. The day before Ajax had stopped and sunk the first German merchant ship of the war when the Olinda was found. Again the crew was taken off the ship and no lives were lost. This in contrast to the first British merchant ship that was sunk by the Germans. When the Athenia was sunk she was torpedoed without warning and 112 men, women and children were lost.