HMS Galatea (71)
British Light cruiser
| Name | HMS Galatea (71) | ||
| Type: | Light cruiser (Arethusa) | ||
| Tonnage | 5,220 tons | ||
| Completed | 1935 - Scott´s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Greenock | ||
| Owner | The Admiralty | ||
| Homeport | |||
| Date of attack | 15 Dec 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-557 (Ottokar Arnold Paulssen) | ||
| Position | 31° 17'N, 29° 13'E | ||
| Complement | 614 officers and men (470 dead and 144 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Central Mediterranean - Alexandria | ||
| Cargo | |||
| History | HMS Galatea (71) was completed in August 1935 | ||
| Notes on event | On 15 Dec 1941 HMS Galatea (71) (Capt E.W.B. Sim, RN) was sunk by U-557 with three torpedoes about 35 miles west of Alexandria, as the cruiser was returning to this harbour with the cruiser force of the Mediterranean Fleet after a hunt for an Italian convoy to Libya. The commander, 22 officers and 447 ratings were lost. 144 survivors were picked up by HMS Griffin (H 31) (Capt H.St.L. Nicholson, DSO, RN) and HMS Hotspur (H 01) (Lt T.D. Herrick, DSC, RN). At 19.55 hours on 14 Dec 1941 the Italian submarine Dagabur (Torri) had fired torpedoes at the same cruiser force in 34°01N/26°02E and heard two detonations after 1 minute 45 seconds. It is not clear whether HMS Galatea (71) had been damaged by the Italian submarine before she was sunk by the U-boat. | ||
| On board | We have details of 474 people who were on board. | ||
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