Action of 23 November 1939
E937858
The Action of 23 November 1939 was a World War II naval engagement in which the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi was sunk after bravely engaging vastly superior German battleships in the North Atlantic.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
World War II engagement
ⓘ
naval battle ⓘ |
| approximateBritishCasualties | over 200 killed ⓘ |
| belligerent |
Nazi Germany
ⓘ
United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| BritishCommander | Edward Coverley Kennedy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| BritishShipFate | HMS Rawalpindi sunk ⓘ |
| BritishShipRole | armed merchant cruiser on patrol ⓘ |
| BritishTactic |
attempted to shadow and report German ships
ⓘ
engaged German battleships despite odds ⓘ |
| cause | German surface raider sortie into the North Atlantic ⓘ |
| combatantShipType |
armed merchant cruiser
ⓘ
battleship ⓘ |
| commemoration | remembered in Royal Navy tradition for bravery ⓘ |
| conflict | World War II ⓘ |
| date | 23 November 1939 ⓘ |
| description | engagement between British armed merchant cruiser and German battleships ⓘ |
| followedBy | continued German surface raider operations in North Atlantic ⓘ |
| GermanCommander |
Erich Bey
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Wilhelm Marschall NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| GermanObjective | disrupt Allied shipping in North Atlantic ⓘ |
| GermanShipArmament | heavy naval guns ⓘ |
| GermanShipFate |
Gneisenau escaped
ⓘ
Scharnhorst escaped ⓘ |
| GermanShipRole | capital ships on raiding mission ⓘ |
| GneisenauOperator | Kriegsmarine NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| involvedShip |
Gneisenau
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
HMS Rawalpindi NERFINISHED ⓘ Scharnhorst NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| location | North Atlantic Ocean NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFor |
HMS Rawalpindi engaging vastly superior German forces
ⓘ
heroic resistance of HMS Rawalpindi ⓘ |
| outcome | sinking of HMS Rawalpindi ⓘ |
| partOf | Atlantic naval operations of World War II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precededBy | early Battle of the Atlantic skirmishes ⓘ |
| RawalpindiArmament | outdated naval guns ⓘ |
| RawalpindiCaptainDecision | refused to surrender ⓘ |
| RawalpindiOperator | Royal Navy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| RawalpindiOrigin | converted passenger liner ⓘ |
| RawalpindiSignal | reported sighting of German battleships before sinking ⓘ |
| result | German victory ⓘ |
| ScharnhorstOperator | Kriegsmarine NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| strategicSignificance | demonstrated vulnerability of armed merchant cruisers to capital ships ⓘ |
| survivorsRescuedBy |
British ships
ⓘ
German ships ⓘ |
| tacticalSituation | HMS Rawalpindi outgunned and out-armoured ⓘ |
| theatre | Battle of the Atlantic NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.