Although the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor claimed 1,177 lives aboard the USS Arizona (BB‑39), it’s important to note that the battleship was anchored at Ford Island and not actively engaged in combat when destroyed. While the loss was a significant blow to the U.S. Navy, it was not the deadliest naval incident involving American forces during World War II.
That unfortunate distinction goes to the HMT Rohna, a British-operated troop transport in the Mediterranean. Struck by a German Luftwaffe torpedo while carrying more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers, the attack caused more American fatalities than any other single naval event of the war—an often overlooked tragedy with a devastating human toll.
Construction of the HMT Rohna
The HMT Rohna was commissioned in 1925 when the British India Steam Navigation Company ordered two new vessels for service along the Madras–Nagapatam–Singapore route. Built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company at their Hebburn shipyard on the River Tyne, the ship was launched in August 1926 and completed later that year.
Originally intended as a passenger liner, the Rohna was capable of carrying up to 5,064 people on deck. Changes in maritime safety regulations later reduced that total to 3,851, but even so, it remained the largest passenger ship registered in the United Kingdom at the time. Given its impressive size and carrying capacity, it was unsurprising that the vessel was requisitioned for service as a troop transport during the Second World War.
Service during the early days of World War II
The HMT Rohna was sailing the Indian Ocean when the UK entered World War II. Largely operating unescorted and occasionally traveling as part of convoys, she ferried thousands of troops to different areas, including through the Suez Canal and between Bombay, Marseille, Durban, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.
Rohna was involved in several important campaigns early on in the Second World War. She ferried troops throughout the North African Campaign, as well as during the invasion of Sicily, which ended in an Allied victory and resulted in the collapse of Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini‘s regime. Lastly, the vessel ferried troops during the Allied invasion of Italy.
The HMT Rohna transported a number of American soldiers
In November 1943, the HMT Rohna set sail with 1,981 American soldiers bound for India. While the ship’s operations were overseen by British and Australian officers, most of the crew consisted of Indian sailors.
On board were servicemen from a range of specialized units, including the 853rd Engineer Battalion, Aviation; the 322nd Fighter Control Squadron; the 31st Signal Construction Battalion; and the 44th Portable Surgical Hospital Unit. Their mission was to help establish airbases in India to support the deployment of Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers.
To strengthen the Rohna’s defenses against potential attacks, 18 American troops were assigned to operate the ship’s Oerlikon autocannons along with a QF 12-pounder naval gun.
Sinking of the HMT Rohna
On the morning of November 25, 1943, the HMT Rohna and four other troop ships departed Oran, in French Algeria. The next day, the convoy came under siege by a group of Heinkel He 177A Greifs, Junkers Ju 88s and torpedo bombers. While the convoy was defended by Free French Air Force Supermarine Spitfires, there were only four up against over 20 Luftwaffe-flown aircraft.
The He 177As were armed with Henschel Hs 293 radio-guided glide bombs, which they dropped on the ships below. The majority were unsuccessful in hitting their targets, as the way they were released made it difficult to accurately hit. The convoy fought back with their anti-aircraft guns.
Around an hour in, Rohna was struck by a bomb on her port side, becoming the only casualty of the skirmish. Many onboard were injured or killed, while several escaped and boarded lifeboats. In total, 1,138 were killed, of which 1,015 were American, and 782 reached the lifeboats. They were later rescued by the cargo ship Clan Campbell and the Auk-class minesweeper USS Pioneer (AM-105), who themselves were protected by the Hunt-class destroyer HMS Atherstone (L05).
Legacy of the sinking
During the HMT Rohna disaster, 1,015 U.S. service members perished instantly, with another 35 later succumbing to injuries—making it the single deadliest loss of American lives at sea due to enemy action in World War II. Despite the staggering toll, the U.S. government kept the event tightly controlled. Families initially received telegrams in January 1944 reporting their loved ones as missing, only learning months later that they had died.
By February 1944, the press was informed that over 1,000 Americans had died in an unspecified incident, but the exact casualty figures and the ship’s identity remained classified until June 1945. Officials confirmed that German bombers sank the Rohna, yet the use of radio-guided glide bombs—a key factor in the attack—was kept secret until Freedom of Information Act releases in 1967.
The cover-up aimed to prevent Axis powers from realizing the potency of their advanced weaponry. In the years since, memorials honoring the fallen have been established worldwide, including sites in London; the Bronx, New York; Seale, Alabama; Chittagong, Bangladesh; and Mumbai, India.