Picture: (above)  Survivors are pulled aboard the Hipper. The man in the water is believed to be Bert Harris.

Below: Oil covered survivors board the Hipper from a Carley float.

Picture (above) German Sailors and soldiers haul survivors aboard.
Note the oil blackened face of the survivor on the far left.

Below: Captain Heye oversees the rescue on board the Hipper.

Heye positioned Hipper so that the current in the sea would bring the drifting survivors to him. All the personnel on deck, including the soldiers, helped to pull in the exhausted, oil covered survivors. Many grabbed ropes but were too exhausted to hold on to them and slipped to their deaths. Lt Cdr Roope was in the water helping his men to the ropes and to get life jackets on. Finally he took hold of a rope himself and was pulled some distance up the side. But with a combination of the huge waves and his exhaustion, he let go and slipped beneath the waves.

Out of a total crew of 149, only 31 survived. The only officer was Torpedo Control officer Lt. Robert Ramsey. The Germans congratulated the survivors on a good fight and treated them as equals. Captain Heye told the survivors that their Captain was a very brave man. Later Heye sent a message through the International Red cross, recommending Lt Cdr Roope for the Victoria Cross. The only time in British History that the VC was recommended by the enemy.