Tolten - on the Independence 2

Aug 10, 2024 on the Indy

Despite being a neutral Chilean ship, the Tolten was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine early in the war. (March 13, 1942) The U-boat crews called this period of the war “The Happy Time” since their marauding off the U.S. coastline went almost completely unopposed. The Tolten was actually the Danish ship Lotta, which was taken over and renamed by the Chilean government after Denmark fell to the Germans. After the war, the U-boat captain admitted that in the dark he could not tell what ship he was firing on. The U-404 sank the Lemuel Burrows the next day. After the war, the wreck was wire-dragged to reduce its menace to shipping.  95’