Shortly thereafter, Lonsdale resigned from the Royal Navy and entered theological training for the Church of England, which he served for the remainder of his working life. He died in 1999 at age 93, revered by his crew members as the skipper who had saved them from suffocation on the bottom of the Kattegat and led them by personal example and sacrifice throughout their years of imprisonment.

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In retrospect, did Captain Lonsdale make the proper decision when he surrendered his still-afloat submarine in order to save her crew? Did he overlook other alternatives? Should he have fought to the last man, or scuttled his submarine even if it risked carnage among his crew, as implied by the immortal ‘Don’t give up the ship’ admonition of Captain James Lawrence? For those critics respectful of naval tradition and not faced with the circumstances that confronted Lonsdale, his decision may seem reprehensible. He was, after all, the only Royal Navy captain to surrender his warship at sea during World War II. For others, perhaps most important the five captains serving on Lonsdale’s court-martial panel, the incident suggests that unusual circumstances sometimes dictate unusual actions.

This article was written by William H. Langenberg and originally appeared in World War II magazine For more great articles subscribe to World War II magazine today!

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