Amazing the hardships these men suffered but somehow they managed to return to normal life.
I worked with a older guy when I was 18 who served on an LST during WWII. (Landing Ship, Tank) You may have seen one, it is the ship where the entire front opens up to load and unload tanks.
He talked of how the Germans had these giant torpedoes, big as a sub, that they could only launch from shore do to their size. The Germans would launch these things without a target, just knowing it would travel across the English Channel until it hit something. They had enough explosive power to wipe out an entire port.
One evening he was out on the rail of his ship when he saw something monstrous coming directly at him from the sea! With no time to yell out, it hit his ship right below his feet. He said he closed his eyes and cringed because it was time to die.
There was this terrible ripping of steel sound as the Torpedo tore into his ship and just kept on coming! It stopped, well embedded into the ship but it did not explode! Alarms were ringing and men were scrambling as he finally opened his eyes.
They sailed back to England with that beast in their side, never knowing when it would go off! He said it was like trying to sail an "L" through the water, very difficult and the longest trip of his life!
They would not let them come to port in England because of its destructive power so they had to abandon ship and go ashore in lifeboats.
No one would volunteer to sail out to get them!