by Nilesh Kunwar

Full Content Many people have endorsed Tehran’s view that the sinking of its battleship IRIS Dena with 180 people on board by a US submarine 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s Galle port in which 148 of its crew lost their lives was a “war crime.”

They believe so because this battleship had left its home port to participate in an international fleet review and multilateral maritime exercise. As these were ceremonial events, IRIS Dena would have been carrying only the minimum basic munitions and hence couldn’t have been a meaningful threat-in-being.

However, experts opine that once the US declared war on Iran, IRIS Dena technically became a legitimate military target as it was a warship with cannons, missiles and surface-to-air missiles.

The sinking of IRIS Dena may not legally constitute a war crime and since IRIS Dena was sunk in international waters, this act didn’t violate the maritime integrity of any country.

However, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s utterly crass remark describing this incident as “quiet death” conveyed an impression that IRIS Dena had been hit without any warning, and this rightly generated a deep sense of moral revulsion amongst many.

Media reports have now confirmed that US submarine USS Charlotte had warned IRIS Dena that its crew should abandon ship twice before torpedoing it. Being incapable of taking any offensive or defensive measures to thwart this threat, the ship’s Captain would definitely have sought directions from his naval headquarters and since the crew didn't comply, it's evident that the captain of the ship would have been ordered to disregard the warning.

Hence, the onus for loss of nearly 150 lives rests squarely with Tehran. Nevertheless, Washington, which waxes eloquent on human rights and high moral values, cannot absolve itself for having brazenly violated the very basic tenets of humanitarian behaviour by leaving the hapless survivors of the torpedoed ship struggling in the ocean to save their lives. This however isn’t the first time it has done so and the Laconia incident during World War II has some striking parallels.

RMS Laconia was a troopship carrying more than 2,700 people (including British soldiers and civilians as well as Italian prisoners of war) when it was torpedoed by a German U Boat (U-156) on September 12, 1942. Being armed with two 120 mm cannons and six anti-aircraft guns, this troopship (like IRIS Dena) became a legitimate target and so, attacking it wasn’t in violation of international law.

On realising that there were so many survivors floundering in the shark infested waters, German U Boat Captain Werner Hartenstein immediately launched rescue operations. He also sent a clear message over the radio that read, "If any ship will assist the shipwrecked Laconia crew I will not attack her, provided I am not being attacked by ship or air force.” He also gave his precise location- indeed a very risky thing to do during war.

With a red cross hurriedly painted on a white bed-sheet spread over its conning tower, U-156 remained on the surface at the site for the next two-and-a-half days rescuing people. On September 16, U-156 was sighted by an American B 24 Liberator bomber and the pilot received a radio communication from the submarine that it had Laconia survivors on board.

However, despite reporting the same and confirming the ongoing rescue operations, the B 24 pilot was ordered to attack and destroy the submarine. Knowing that there would be no retaliation from U-156, the Liberator made four passes, strafing as well as dropping bombs and depth charges at will, causing minor damage to U-156 and forcing it to crash dive, abandoning more than 400 survivors who were on its deck as well as being towed in lifeboats.

A day later, U-506 which was also carrying out rescue operations and had 142 Laconia survivors on board was also attacked by the US Air Force (USAF). After these two attacks, German Naval Chief Admiral Karl Dönitz issued the Laconia Befehl (command/order) directing that “No attempts should be taken to rescue crew members of sunken ships.”

After the war, this order (which owed its existence to the USAF attack on German U Boats involved in sea rescue operations) was ironically cited by the Allies before the Nuremberg Military Tribunal while charging Admiral Dönitz for war crimes.

In response to a questionnaire sent by Admiral Dönitz’s defence counsel, Commander-in-Chief of the US fleet in the Pacific Admiral Chester Nimitz admitted that the U.S. Navy had practiced “unrestricted submarine warfare” in the Pacific from the very first day of the war and American submarines attacked without warning, and no survivors were rescued if it exposed a submarine to danger or prevented further operation.Isn't it ironic that the Allies wanted to hang Admiral Dönitz for what the American Navy was itself doing all through World War II?

That they didn’t succeed is the only saving grace.

Tailpiece: While it’s estimated that about 1,658 to 1,757 people perished in the Laconia incident, how many of these lives were lost due to the US Navy’s callous attitude that thwarted rescue operations will never be known. The perversity is that the B24 crew involved was awarded medals for this action as it was believed that U-156 had been destroyed. The reality is that while U-156 survived this attack, two lifeboats carrying survivors had been sunk.

So, just like the B 24 Liberator crew, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the members of USS Charlotte who torpedoed IRIS Dena also get medals for sinking this warship. And by leaving its crew members to fend for themselves on the high seas even when rescuing them posed no danger to either the US submarine or its crew or impeded further operations, USS Charlotte has indeed lived up the US Navy’s tradition of waging “unrestricted submarine warfare.”

Nilesh Kunwar is a retired Indian Army Officer who has served in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. He is a keen ‘Kashmir-Watcher,’ and after retirement is pursuing his favourite hobby of writing for newspapers, journals and think-tanks. Views expressed above are the author's own