Allied Atrocities: Rubber boats suddenly sank

Statement of Corporal Walter Segel before Judge Sauermann:

“Together with my troops I went on board a Greek caique on 17 May 1941 and we sailed from Piraeus in order to land on the western shore of Crete on 20 May to give support to the parachute troops. We sailed in a convoy of 21 ships that was attacked by British warships near Crete in the night of 20-21 May from 2210 in the night until 0330 in the early morning. The British scanned the seas with searchlights, attacked individual ships with artilliary fire, and after sinking them, switched on smaller searchlights to look for the shipwrecked, who were holding on to rubber boats or similar gear, and opened fire on them with machine guns and small-caliber cannons. I could observe the shooting clearly… individual men in such rubber boats suddenly sank. The British did not even attempt to rescue any of them. I saw at least twenty groups of survivors who were illuminated by the British and then sprayed with bullets. My own ship that had the number 107 or 103 was only lightly damaged.”

Alfred M. de Zayas, The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939-1945, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. 1989. p. 254