Director, S.V.P.
REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS.
43562
0340 SWALLOW proceeded and VULTURE in company with embarked and at
(45' At 0300 Scott hours Paine on Power in
WOLFE to embark five vessels miles lying East off-shore. of Dunkirk, and troops to convey from the them beaches to destroyers one mile East and other to starboard damaged On passage the to Dunkirk, the wreckage of some description was the at normal from the shaft. excessive revolution revolutions indicator and of there ran likely revolutions that with only part of This normal engine throttle; subsequently it appeared at least one blade was stripped. the and On went arrival at Dunkirk, MARLBOROUGH entered to plan, from which alonside a paddle minesweeper, harbour loaded contrary with troops, other two boats she took off as many as she could partly and
Commander to he had damaged one propellor and proposed to return ask why that were deviating from the plan and same; was informed by the the we ahead of me did the I closed accommodate, MARLBOROUGH to direct Ramsgate.
Observing that the round trip Ramsgate/Dunkirk, including refuelling, would take about seven hours, and that the accommodation in the boats was small, I considered it a waste of effort merely to transfer troops already embarked and I explained this to the Master of
SWALLOW who had wished to return with the other boats (on account of damage already sustained and the fact that the water was full of wreckage and flotsam) and we proceeded to the beaches alone.
The situation at 0600 hours was as follows:-
Dunkirk was under a pall of smoke from fires which appeared to be mainly to the South and West of the port. There were numerous wrecks outside the harbour and along the beaches. There were large numbers of troops on the shore as far as it was possible to see to the Eastward, and the beach was strewn with all forms of motor transport. Along the foreshore were a very large number of pulling boats, aground, capsized or damaged, and abandoned. There were also a considerable number of motor boats, motor launches and yachts aground and, in most cases, abandoned, and several wrecks close inshore. About one mile out in the Dunkirk Roads were numerous destroyers and other vessels waiting to embark troops, but scarcely any boats were running between the shore and these ships.
There was a light onshore wind, which unfortunately freshened considerably later, andcaused a ground swell which made embarkation more difficult.
The tide at 0600 hours was setting
There was heavy bombardment going on fairly on shore, hard but to the the beaches Eastward. were quiet except for occasional late shelling and intermittent bombing which did not become heavy until afternoon.
On arrival at the beach I saw one small motor yacht, which I
but which appeared capable of being refloated, and was passed aground, her a towline and pulled her off. This yacht subsequently or signalled rudder out of action. I took her out and laid her alongside a small for further assistance and reported her steering gear coasting vessel which was at anchor.
There was a Service cutter lying astern of this coaster, I
and I took it over for use in embarking the troops. At first, three could see no British troops on the beaches, and in my first or four trips I conveyed only French troops whom I took to H.M.S. to
IMPULSIVE from whom I borrowed 2, and later 2 more, hands man
/my
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