TNA ADM 199 792

133
22
.
131
CONFIDENTIAL.
Page 12.
Operation "DYNAMO"
-
Narrative of Events.
29/5
Tuesday, 28th May (continued).
Personnel Vessel FENELLA attacked by enemy aircraft and sunk alongside EASTERN ARM at Dunkirk.
Personnel Vessel MONA'S QUEEN sunk by mine whilst off
Dunkirk.
Paddle Minesweeper WAVERLEY sunk by enemy aircraft off
Dunkirk. Bombed for 1½ hours.
Trawler POLLY JOHNSON damaged by enemy aircraft off
Dunkirk and finally sunk by ARLEY.
Paddle Minesweeper GRACIE FIELDS sunk by enemy aircraft in position 51° 14' N, 2° 40' E. Troops were transferred to other ships.
Danlayer COMFORT sunk in collision by LYDD.
Drifter GIRL PAMELA sunk in collision.
Danlayer NAUTILUS damaged by bombs when off La Panne.
Transferred troops to GREYHOUND, then set on fire and abandoned, finally sinking.
The following ships were all damaged by enemy aircraft, either by direct hits or near misses -
INTREPID
SALADIN
ST. SEIRIOL (Personnel Vessel)
BIDEFORD
KELLETT
CANTERBURY
(Personnel Vessel)
M/S
PANGBOURNE
GALLANT
WOLFHOUND.
GREYHOUND
JAGUAR
Particulars of bombing attacks taken from reports are as follows:-
SALADIN approached Dunkirk at 1845 and was attacked 10 times by bombers. Steam pipes were fractured and fire started in
"ready" cordite aft. This was thrown overboard. Ship returned to Dover owing to damage, the Commanding Officer deciding that the ship would be a hindrance to further operations.
GREYHOUND. Damaged by near miss. Steam pipes cut. Returned eventually under own steam.
INTREPID. Continuously bombed during approach to La Panne.
One boiler room was put out of action. Ship returned to Dover.
BIDEFORD, attacked by enemy aircraft, bomb hit stern and put her out of action. Ship was towed back to Dover. Troops were transferred to KELLETT.
PANGBOURNE was damaged below water line by several near misses necessitating dockyard repairs.
Thursday 30th May

134
13
CONFIDENTIAL.
Page 13.
132
Operation "DYNAMO"
Narrative of Events.
30/5
Thursday, 30th May.
40. As an example of the difficulty of any one man appreciating the situation at Dunkirk and the beaches during the night, at 0030/30 the S.N.O. on the French Coast reported that he had no destroyers. In fact, at that time, all available destroyers, namely 10, in the Dover Command, were either on, or on passage to or from, the coast, and the remaining 5 were at Dover discharging troops, embarking ammunitition, fuelling, etc. and were to sail within the next
4 hours.
Simultaneously the V.C.I.G.S. reported that the beaches were well organised, the troops in good heart, and there had been no bombing since dark, but that there was still a great shortage of small craft - urgently required. This last fact was well known to the Vice Admiral, Dover.
41. Commander-in-Chief, Nore, was requested to send as much grass hawser as possible to Ramsgate, as quickly as possible, for supplying the skoots, to haul boats off the beaches, thus speeding up the boat work to compensate for the shortage of boats, which would continue for at least another
24 hours.
42. At 0500 the 7 modern destroyers remaining with Vice
Admiral, Dover - ICARUS, IMPULSIVE, INTREPID, IVANHOE, HAR-
VESTER, HAVANT and JAVELIN - sailed to Sheerness in accordance with Admiralty instructions. The MONTROSE and MACKAY sailed for repairs.
43. Meantime the Vice Admiral, Dover, had been much exercised regarding the possibility of the continued use of
Dunkirk harbour for personnel vessels and was anxiously awaiting the report from VANQUISHER, who had been sent to investigate the reported obstruction. VANQUISHER'S report was received at 0610 stating entrance was practicable but that obstruction exists towards outer inside end of the EASTERN ARM.
Pending amplifying reports, the sailing of personnel vessels to Dunkirk was resumed, although at this time there were still
4 personnel vessels presumed to be in the vicinity of Dunkirk
Harbour, whose movements and whereabouts throughout the night still remained obscure.
The Vice Admiral asked R.A. Dover, who was in HEBE, whether personnel ships could, in fact, still use Dunkirk. In the meantime a series of signals from Rear Admiral Dover, and destroyers off the coast, were received, stating that the beaches were filling up rapidly and more ships and boats were urgently required there. Although it was known that the destroyers could use Dunkirk, it appeared at this time that the best division of transport was to send the great majority of destroyers to the beaches, where urgent demands could not be ignored, and the personnel vessels to Dunkirk Harbour, only an occasional destroyer being sent to Dunkirk from the reduced number now available for the operation.
44/

135
14
CONFIDENTIAL.
Page 14.
133
Operation "DYNAMO"
-
Narrative of Events.
30/5
Thursday, 30th May. (Continued).
44. At Dunkirk there were no air attacks in the early morning and all was quiet. Later, when ships began to arrive in quantity, in view of the massive target presented by a number of ships alongside the East pier at a time, the S.N.O.,
Dunkirk ordered destroyers alongside only one at a time. At about 0800 a store ship arrived at Dunkirk with provisions but no water. This caused so much congestion on the pier that unloading was abandoned when half complete, and the store ship filled with troops. A certain amount of water was obtained from destroyers.
45. During the forenoon the Military constructed a long pier of lorries with deck planking, into the sea off Bray. This was an excellent piece of work, but was insufficiently stable for use by such craft as paddle steamers, nor even smaller power craft in a lop. It was invaluable later for embarking troops into small boats. As regards general embarkation off the beaches, it was later learnt that it was 0 common occurrence for processions of small boats loaded with troops to be cast adrift when empty and allowed to float away to seaward, owing to the lack of sufficient naval ratings as boat-keepers. For the same reason many of the smaller pulling boats were swamped and sunk due to overloading by uncontrolled "rush" of soldiers.
Both these faults were remedied later.
46. Matters proceeded smoothly throughout the day owing to the mist and there being a big smoke cloud over Dunkirk which prevented the enemy bombers attacking the ships in large numbers.
In order to increase the rate of embarkation through the bottle-neck of the East Pier gangway, the troops were urged to quicken their pace and eventually thousands of troops, tired and without food and water for days, broke into the double and kept it up the whole length of the pier for more than two hours.
47. The attempt to maintain an adequate rate of lift using only the older destroyers was by now shown to be impracticable. The destroyers were lifting about 17,000, personnel vessels about 9500 in the 24 hours. Remaining vessels were estimated to be worth about 15,000 per day. This gave a total lift of about 43,000 per day. The situation called for E lift of at least 55,000 per day. Verbal representations being made to C.M.S., authority was received for the return to the Dover Command of the modern destroyers released the night before.
Accordingly Commander-in-Chief, Nore, at 1531 gave orders to HARVESTER, HAVANT, IVANHOE, IMPULSIVE, ICARUS and
INTREPID to proceed at once to Dunkirk. Subsequently some of these destroyers were diverted to the beaches.
48/

APPENDIX I.
160
to
Operation "DYNAMO"
Narrative of Events.
162
-
LIST OF H.M. SHIPS, PERSONNEL SHIPS AND HOSPITAL CARRIERS
TAKING. PART.
A.A. CRUISER:
CALCUTTA
DESTROYERS:
ANTHONY
HARVESTER
MALCOLM
VIVACIOUS
BASILISK
HAVANT
MONTROSE
WAKEFUL
BLYSKAWICA
ICARUS
SABRE
WHITEHALL
CODRINGTON
IMPULSIVE
SALADIN
WHITSHED
ESK
INTREPID
SCIMITAR
WINCHELSEA
EXPRESS
IVANHOE
SHIKARI
WINDSOR
GALLANT
JAGUAR
VENOMOUS
WOLFHOUND
GRAFTON
JAVELIN
VANQUISHER
WOLSEY
GRENADE
KEITH
VERITY
WORCESTER
GREYHOUND
MACKAY
VIMY
(40)
SLOOPS:
BIDEFORD
GUNBOATS:
LOCUST
MOSQUITO
UNESWEEPERS:
ALBURY
HEBE
QUEEN OF THANET
BRIGHTON QUEEN
HALCYON
ROSS
BRIGHTON BELLE
KELLETT
SALAMANDER
DEVONIA
LEDA
SALTASH
DUNDALK
LYDD
SKIPJACK
DUCHESS OF FIFE
MARMION
SANDOWN
EMPEROR OF INDIA
MEDWAY QUEEN
SNAEFELL
EL
FITZROY
NIGER
SPEEDWELL
GLENAVON
ORIOLE
SUTTON
GLENGO
PANGBOURNE
SHARPSHOOTER
GOSSAMER
PLYNLIMMON
WAVERLEY
GRACIE FIELDS
PRINCESS ELIZABETH WESTWARD HO
A/S VESSELS:
ARLEY
COMFORT
MARETTA
BOTANIC
CONIDAW
NAUTILUS
BROCK
FYLDEA
POLLY JOHNSON
CALVI
GULZAR
SANGASSO
CHICO
JOHN CATLING
STARLIGHT RAYS
re
SPECIAL SERVICE CRESTED EAGLE
GOLDEN EAGLE
ROYAL EAGLE
ESSELS:
"LL" TRAWLERS: INVERFORTH LORD INCHCAPE OUR BAIRNS THOMAS BARTLETT
it
A/S TRAWLERS:
ARGYLLSHIRE
KINGSTON ANDALUSITE STELLA DORADO
ore
BLACKBURN ROVERS
KINGSTON OLIVINE
THURINGIA
CAYTON WYKE
LADY PHILOMENA
WESTELLA
an
GRIMSBY TOWN
SAON
WOLVES
ue
KINGSTON ALALITE
SPURS
OLVINA
all
INE RECOVERY
FIDGET
JACKETA
SILVER DAWN
RIFTERS:
FISHER BOY
LORD CAVAN

CONFIDENTIAL.
Page 12,
Operation "DYNAMO"
-
Narrative of Events.
Tuesday, 28th May (continued).
Personnel Vessel FENELLA attacked by enemy aircraft and sunk alongside EASTERN ARM at Dunkirk.
Personnel Vessel MONA'S QUEEN sunk by mine whilst off
Dunkirk.
Paddle Minesweeper WAVERLEY sunk by enemy aircraft off
Dunkirk. Bombed for 1½ hours.
Trawler POLLY JOHNSON damaged by enemy aircraft off
Dunkirk and finally sunk by ARLEY.
Paddle Minesweeper GRACIE FIELDS sunk by enemy aircraft in position 51° 14' N, 2° 40' E. Troops were transferred to other ships.
Danlayer COMFORT sunk in collision by LYDD.
Drifter GIRL PAMELA sunk in collision.
Danlayer NAUTILUS damaged by bombs when off La Panne.
Transferred troops to GREYHOUND, then set on fire and abandoned, finally sinking.
The following ships were all damaged by enemy aircraft, either by direct hits or near misses -
INTREPID
SALADIN
ST. SEIRIOL (Personnel Vessel)
BIDEFORD
KELLETT
CANTERBURY (Personnel Vessel)
PANGBOURNE
GALLANT
WOLFHOUND.
GREYHOUND
JAGUAR
Particulars of bombing attacks taken from reports are as follows:-
SALADIN approached Dunkirk at 1845 and was attacked 10 times by bombers. Steam pipes were fractured and fire started in
"ready" cordite aft. This was thrown overboard. Ship returned to Dover owing to damage, the Commanding Officer deciding that the ship would be a hindrance to further operations.
GREYHOUND. Damaged by near miss. Steam pipes cut. Returned eventually under own steam,
INTREPID. Continuously bombed during approach to La Panne.
One boiler room was put out of action. Ship returned to Dover.
BIDEFORD, attacked by enemy aircraft, bomb hit stern and put her out of action. Ship was towed back to Dover. Troops were transferred to KELLETT.
PANGBOURNE was damaged below water line by several near misses necessitating dockyard repairs.
Thursday 30th May
!

CONFIDENTIAL.
Page 13.
Operation "DYNAMO"
Narrative of Events.
Thursday, 30th May.
40. As an example of the difficulty of any one man appreciating the situation at Dunkirk and the beaches during the night, at 0030/30 the S.N.O. on the French Coast reported that he had no destroyers. In fact, at that time, all available destroyers, namely 10, in the Dover Command, were either on, or on passage to or from, the coast, and the remaining 5 were at Dover discharging troops, embarking ammunitition, fuelling, etc. and were to sail within the next
+ hours.
Simultaneously the V.C.I.G.S. reported that the beaches were well organised, the troops in good heart, and there had been no bombing since dark, but that there was still a great shortage of small craft - urgently required. This last fact was well known to the Vice Admiral, Dover.
41. Commander-in-Chief, Nore, was requested to send as nuch grass hawser as possible to Ramsgate, as quickly as ossible, for supplying the skoots, to haul boats off the beaches, thus speeding up the boat work to compensate for the hortage of boats, which would continue for at least another
14 hours.
42. At 0500 the 7 modern destroyers remaining with Vice dmiral, Dover - ICARUS, IMPULSIVE, INTREPID, IVANHOE, HAR-
ESTER, HAVANT and JAVELIN - sailed to Sheerness in accordance ith Admiralty instructions. The MONTROSE and MACKAY sailed
'or repairs.
43. Meantime the Vice Admiral, Dover, had been much xercised regarding the possibility of the continued use of unkirk harbour for personnel vessels and was anxiously waiting the report from VANQUISHER, who had been sent to nvestigate the reported obstruction. VANQUISHER'S report as received at 0610 stating entrance was practicable but that bstruction exists towards outer inside end of the EASTERN ARM.
ending amplifying reports, the sailing of personnel vessels o Dunkirk was resumed, although at this time there were still personnel vessels presumed to be in the vicinity of Dunkirk arbour, whose movements and whereabouts throughout the night till remained obscure.
The Vice Admiral asked R.A. Dover, who was in HEBE, hether personnel ships could, in fact, still use Dunkirk. In he meantime a series of signals from Rear Admiral Dover, and estroyers off the coast, were received, stating that the eaches were filling up rapidly and more ships and boats were rgently required there. Although it was known that the estroyers could use Dunkirk, it appeared at this time that the est division of transport was to send the great majority of estroyers to the beaches, where urgent demands could not be gnored, and the personnel vessels to Dunkirk Harbour, only an ccasional destroyer being sent to Dunkirk from the reduced umber now available for the operation.
44/

CONFIDENTIAL.
Page 14.
peration "DYNAMO"
-
Narrative of Events.
'hursday, 30th May. (Continued).
44. At Dunkirk there were no air attacks in the early orning and all was quict. Later, when ships began to arrive n quantity, in view of the massive target presented by a umber of ships alongside the East pier at C. time, the S.N.O.,
Dunkirk ordered destroyers alongside only one at a time. At bout 0800 a store ship arrived at Dunkirk with provisions but
10 water. This caused so much congestion on the pier that inloading was abandoned when half complete, and the store ship filled with troops. A certain amount of water was obtained from destroyers.
45. During the forenoon the Military constructed a long pier of lorries with deck planking, into the sea off Bray. This vas an excellent piece of work, but was insufficiently stable for use by such craft as paddle steamers, nor even smaller power craft in a lop. It was invaluable later for embarking troops into small boats. As regards general embarkation off the beaches, it was later learnt that it was c common occurrence for processions of small boats loaded with troops to be cast adrift when empty and allowed to float away to seaward, owing to the lack of sufficient naval ratings as boat-keepers. For the same reason many of the smaller pulling boats were swamped and sunk due to overloading by uncontrolled "rush" of soldiers.
Both these faults were remedied later.
46. Matters proceeded smoothly throughout the day owing to the mist and there being a big smoke cloud over Dunkirk which prevented the enemy bombers attacking the ships in large numbers.
In order to increase the rate of embarkation through the bottle-neck of the East Pier gangway, the troops were urged to quicken their pace and eventually thousands of troops, tired and without food and water for days, broke into the double and kept it up the whole length of the pier for more than two hours.
47. The attempt to maintain an adequate rate of lift using only the older destroyers was by now shown to be impracticable. The destroyers were lifting about 17,000, personnel vessels about 9500 in the 24 hours. Remaining vessels were estimated to be worth about 15,000 per day. This gave a total lift of about 43,000 per day. The situation called for & lift of at least 55,000 per day. Verbal representations being made to C.N.S., authority was received for the return to the Dover Command of the modern destroyers released the ight before.
Accordingly Commander-in-Chief, Nore, at 1531 gave orders to HARVESTER, HAVANT, IVANHOE, IMPULSIVE, ICARUS and
INTREPID to proceed at once to Dunkirk. Subsequently some of these destroyers were diverted to the beaches.
48/

APPENDIX I.
to
Operation "DYNAMO"
-
Narrative of Events.
LIST OF H.M. SHIPS, PERSONNEL SHIPS AND HOSPITAL CARRIERS
TAKING. PART.
RUISER:
CALCUTTA
YERS:
ANTHONY
HARVESTER
MALCOLM
VIVACIOUS
BASILISK
HAVANT
MONTROSE
WAKEFUL
BLYSKAWICA
ICARUS
SABRE
WHITEHALL
CODRINGTON
IMPULSIVE
SALADIN
WHITSHED
ESK
INTREPID
SCIMITAR
WINCHELSEA
EXPRESS
IVANHOE
SHIKARI
WINDSOR
GALLANT
JAGUAR
VENOMOUS
WOLFHOUND
GRAFTON
JAVELIN
VANQUISHER
WOLSEY
GRENADE
KEITH
VERITY
WORCESTER
GREYHOUND
MACKAY
VILY
BIDEFORD
TS:
LOCUST
MOSQUITO
EEPERS:
ALBURY
HEBE
QUEEN OF THANET
BRIGHTON QUEEN
HALCYON
ROSS
BRIGHTON BELLE
KELLETT
SALAMANDER
EL
DEVONIA
LEDA
SALTASH
DUNDALK
LYDD
SKIPJACK
DUCHESS OF FIFE
MARMION
SANDOWN
EMPEROR OF INDIA
MEDWAY QUEEN
SNAEFELL
FITZROY
NIGER
SPEEDWELL
GLENAVON
ORIOLE
SUTTON
GLENGOWER
PANGBOURNE
SHARPSHOOTER
GOSSAMER
PLYNLIMMON
WAVERLEY
GRACIE FIELDS
PRINCESS ELIZABETH
WESTWARD HO
ESSELS:
ARLEY
COMFORT
MARETTA
BOTANIC
CONIDAW
NAUTILUS
BROCK
FYLDEA
POLLY JOHNSON
CALVI
GULZAR
SARGASSO
CHICO
JOHN CATLING
STARLIGHT RAYS
AL SERVICE CRESTED EAGLE
GOLDEN EAGLE
LS:
ROYAL EAGLE
TRAWLERS: INVERFORTH LORD INCHCAPE OUR BAIRNS THOMAS BARTLETT
RAWLERS:
ARGYLLSHIRE
KINGSTON ANDALUSITE STELLA DORADO
BLACKBURN ROVERS
KINGSTON OLIVINE
THURINGIA
CAYTON WYKE
LADY PHILOMENA
WISTELLA
GRIMSBY TOWN
SAON
WOLVES
KINGSTON ALALITE
SPURS
OLVINA
RECOVERY
FIDGET
JACKETA
ERS:
SILVER DAWN
FISHER BOY
LORD CAVAN

Page 2.
HICH TOOK PART IN OPERATION "DYNAMO" - 26TH MAY - 4TH JUNE, 1940.
WHICH TOOK PART IN OPERATION "DYNAMO" - 26TH MAY - 4TH JUNE, 1940
PART I - BRITISH SHIPS.
CRUISER.
TTTA
ROYERS.
ONY
INTREPID
VENOMOUS
LISK
IVANHOE
VERITY
INGTON
JAGUAR
VIMY
JAVELIN
VIVACIOUS
ESS
KEITH
WAKEFUL
ANT
MACKAY
WHITEHALL
TON
MALCOIM
WHITSHED
ADE
MONTROSE
WINCHELSEA
HOUND
SABRE
WINDSOR
ESTER
SALADIN
WOLFHOUND
NT
SCIMITAR
WOLSEY
US
SHIKARI
WORCESTER
LSIVE
VANQUISHER
P.
EFORD
VETTES.
LLEMOT
MALLARD
SHELDRAKE
GFISHER
SHEARWATER
WIDGEON
BOATS.
UST
#
MOSQUITO
ESWEEPERS.
ROSS
URY
HEBE
SALAMANDER
GHTON BELLE
KELLETT
SALTASH
GHTON QUEEN
LEDA
SANDOWN
ONIA
LYDD
SHARPSHOOTER
HESS OF FIFE
MARMION
MEDWAY QUEEN
SKIPJACK
DALK
SNAEFELL
PEROR OF INDIA
NIGER
SPEEDWELL
CZROY
ORIOLE
SUTTON
ENAVON
PANGBOURNE
WAVERLEY
ENGOWER
PLINLIMMON
WESTWARD HO
SSAMER
PORTSDOWN
CIE FIELDS
PRINCESS ELIZABETH
WHIPPINGHAM
LCYON
QUEEN OF THANET
(Continued)
Sunk.