In 1942, the HMAS Armidale cast off from Darwin, the capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, for Betano Bay in East Timor, charged with evacuating stranded Aussie and Dutch soldiers, plus a number of Portuguese civilians, and dropping off a replacement platoon.

On Dec. 1, Japanese bombers attacked the Armidale in concert and sank it, killing many onboard, save for 49 lucky souls who miraculously survived the bombing, the elements, and the sharks swimming under the Timor Sea’s waves, treating the injured and the dead alike as their personal buffet.

It’s a terrifying thought to imagine oneself floating in open water with nothing on the horizon line but even more open water, and nothing beneath the surface but roving apex predators comprising tens of thousands of pounds of teeth,

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