SS Empire Javelin

SS Empire Javelin was an Infantry Landing Ship or "LSI(Large)" in service with the British during the late stages of the Second World War. She saw service as a troop transport during Operation Overlord, or "D-Day", on 6 June 1944.

She was built by Consolidated Steel Corporation, Wilmington, California as the Cape Lobos, and transferred under the terms of lend lease shortly after being completed in 1943 under the name Empire Javelin. She was operated by the Ministry of War Transport.

D-Day
The ship carried troops of the 1st Battalion 116th Infantry regiment of US 29th Division, destined for Dog Green Omaha Beach, Normandy. Most notably, the ship carried members of Company A, 116th Infantry, who were from Bedford, Virginia. Bedford is the home of the United States' National D-Day Memorial.

Loss
The Empire Javelin was in the English Channel en route to France at 50.08333°N, -1°W on the afternoon of 28 December 1944, with 1483 men on board. Without warning there was an explosion; at least twenty lives were lost and twenty more injured. A nearby French frigate, L'Escarmouche, was called alongside once the extent of the damage had been assessed, and for approximately an hour the men on board jumped from the ship. Two minutes after the last man jumped off, a large explosion occurred and the ship began settling by the stern. Approximately ten minutes later the ship was completely submerged. Some pictures of the sinking can be seen here:

Initially it was thought that the ship had been torpedoed by German U-boat U-772, however it was later revealed that U-772 was itself sunk earlier that month. Another U-boat, U-322, was active in the area on the same day, however this was sunk on 29 December 1944. As such there is no definitive proof of what sank the Empire Javelin; it has been proposed that it was more likely to be a mine.