TNA ADM 199 792

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COPY.
SECRET.
c/o Admiralty,
Whitehall, S.W.1.
11th June, 1940.
GRENADE hithybomb
34
Sir,
May 29/1800 Sank
I have the honour to submit the following report
in accordance with your verbal instructions. The delay
has been occasioned by the difficulty in collecting the
necessary information from the Officers, some of whom
landed at Dover, some at Margate and some at Ramsgate.
During and just after the final attack so much was happening
at the same time that I have described firstly what
happened in the vicinity of the Bridge and what action I
took, and, secondly, what happened aft. As appendices
I have attached the report of the adventures of Mr. Crews,
Warrant Schoolmaster, after he had left the GRENADE and a
statement of the known damage done by the bombs.
2.
During the evening o? the 28th May I left
28/5 Dunkirque with over 900 troops for Dover; these troops
were disembarked without incident, and on the Forenoon of
29/5 the 29th of May I received orders from V.A. Dover to proceed
with all dispatch to Dunkirque, taking JAGUAR and GALLANT
with me. I was ordered to take route X to report if I
was subjected to shelling off !ravellines. No shelling
was experienced but all destrovers were subjected to a dive
bombing attack when close to the coast. GALLANT suffered
damage astern but as she did not appear to require assistance
I proceeded alongside the western side of the pier, berthing
JAGUAR outside me. A certain number of attacks were
experienced but no bombs came ery close to either ship.
GRENADE could not fire her guns owing to JAGUAR being on
her starboard side and the pier on her port side.
3.
JAGUAR was filled wi in troops and then proceeded,
being subsequently bombed and it whilst on passage. About
this time some bombs from a hi gh level attack fell fairly
close to GRENADE but did no damage. No troops were put
into GRENADE as the S.N.O. stated that he wished a
destroyer to remain alongside. A transport ahead of
GRENADE left and this position was taken by 6 trawlers.
Acting on the instructions of the S.N.O. I order a V class
destroyer whose name I have fo 'gotten to proceed alongside
ahead of these trawlers.
29/5
4.
At about 15.00 the f rst deliberate attack on
GRENADE commenced; two bombs Cell about 20 - 25 yards from
the Starboard Bow, killing one and wouding one rating on
the Forecastle, damaging A-gun and woundingone rating on the
Searchlight Platform. Some ratings in the trawlers ahead
of GRENADE and one in the CRES ED EAGLE on the other side
le
of the pier were killed. I atched these bombs fall until
they were about 50 feet from the water and there is no doubt
that they were released simultaneously, as was, I think, the
case 0. the bombs which hit GR SNADE at 1800.
h
5.
At about 17.50 12 enemy aircraft circled over the
end of the pier and the second deliberate attack on
GRENADE commenced. Two planes commenced a dive bombing
attack and a number of bombs dropped. I have found it
bomb
difficult to discover exactly where GRENADE was hit, but I
am of the opinion that two bombs were dropped simultaneously
as in the earlier raid, No. 1 Talling close to the Starboard
Side between A & B guns, making ahole in the side, causing
a fire at the after end of the Fore Mess Deck and sinking
a trawler just ahead of GRENADE; No. 2 hitting the ship near
the Sick Bay, penetrating nearly to the bottom of the ship
before exploding.