The epic sea rescue in which 1420 persons were taken off a blazing British troopship near Algiers Sunday was a triumph of the English national character, Robert G. Albion, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, said last night.

Terming the operation "one of the greatest sea rescues in history," Albion said that the rescue was possible only because "the ship's officers rose to the emergency, the crew remained under discipline, and the passengers did not get excited."

"The British have always been good at avoiding panic in such cases," Albion added. "The discipline and order on the ship were remarkable."

The troopship Empire Windrush, bearing British service men and their families home from imperial outposts in the Far and Middle East, was sailing through the Mediterranean at 7 a.m. Sunday when an explosion occurred in its boiler room. Four crew members working in the room were immediately killed and within a half hour the whole ship was aflame.

Despite the danger of total disaster, however, the rest of the crew and all the passengers, including 125 women, 87 children, and 17 invalids, were brought to safety without a fatality and with only 18 slight casualties. Three hundred service men and crew members who were forced to jump overboard were picked up within two hours by nearby ships.

"It was a remarkable piece of luck that the sea was calm and there were other boats within an hour's distance," Albion observed yesterday.

The professor said he could recall no sea rescue in history involving more survivors and pointed out that the Empire Windrush episode could have been a disaster rivaling the sinking of the Titanic, in which 1517 persons were drowned.

The lack of excitement aboard the Windrush was definitely the decisive factor in the rescue, Albion said. He praised the conduct of Capt. W. Wilson, "a competent officer who took control of the situation during the first critical moments" and prevented any possible panic.

Most of the worst sea distresses have occurred because the commanding officers lost control in an emergency, the professor said.

Albion said the large percentage of military personnel on board the Windrush probably accounted in part for the passengers' calm acceptance of orders.