Naval Staff History No. 41, the official historical study of the evacuation from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo, 26 May–4 June 1940, dated 1949.
Source: The National Archives, Kew, ADM 234/360. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
1 matching pages. OCR may contain transcription errors.
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CHAP. VI |
Unformatted machine-generated OCR for document page 62.
CHAP. VI THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK straddled by bombs for and 35 minutes), the seeing burning that Grenade traffic all along the east proceeded out of harbour, out of a into drifter in the Calvi, had ceased, cast off, skirting grounding slightly on sunk and the sunken pier The troops now of began the Piermaster climbing Cdr. J. one C. Clouston, ship restored the instructions order. having arrangements of his in the clear of the fairway,', R.N., At 1815 made the Grenade was abandoned with the Piermaster and her Captain, to tow her Cdr. R. C. Boyle, embarked with some ship's company Crested Eagle. Polly Johnson sunk to the five remaining her Oropesa and the John Cattling was instructed on The burning wreck of the Grenade trawlers. did, The in fact, commence to drift down attempt vivors to pull clear, out of the remaining harbour 4 trawlers, with troops and to on board, proceeded towards the beaches. A sur- later, of the near Nieuport caused Bank buoy, miss the in Polly Johnson, leaking badly as a result little engine, was abandoned; Arley embarked her crew and troops and sank damage by a the near the first air attack, and with damaged her by gunfire. Grenade blown up She burned fiercely for some hours and then blew up. The Grenade was guided into a pocket to the westward of the main channel. Crested Eagle blazing, is beached swung clear of the east pier and proceeded on an easterly course. Shortly Meanwhile, when the Verity left the harbour at 1755, the Crested Eagle afterwards, she however, she was hit by 4 bombs and caught fire; out of control, about she might transfer her troops; but the Crested Eagle could not stop. At that continued under way. The Verity instructed the Crested Eagle to stop so in Eagle ran aground west of Bray beach. The 200 survivors, who could be seen 1830, blazing fiercely fore and aft (she was a wooden ship) the Crested to the the water, were heavily machine-gunned from the air, and the ships that came rescue were bombed. Some of the survivors, several with severe burns, Captain and other survivors of the Grenade, by the minesweeper Albury. were picked up by the minesweepers Hebe and Lydd; others, including the Among those picked up by the Sabre was the Second Engineer of the Crested Eagle and a stoker from the Grenade. Normania sunk gunboat Ross took Mosquito, but then began to sink. The Mosquito and the minesweeper by by a bomb off 11 W buoy. She was towed clear of Dunkirk channel was the In the course of this third air attack the personnel vessel Normania hit sank off off the crew and the few troops that on board. The Normania 11 W buoy at about 0245 the following were day. Saladin and attacks The 2000. fourth off severely Ships Bray air attack, returning beach damaged, which to was England Lorina widespread, sunk were bombed. took place There between were about continuous 1830 was so company there were attacked; the destroyers attacked Sabre, 10 times, Saladin in and its vicinity; the Verity and severely damaged in the engine room by Saladin, a near miss that she had to 44