TNA ADM 234 360

WEDNESDAY, 29TH MAY
CHAP. VI
Mistral damaged
At 1555 a bomb struck the west quay and damaged the Mistral, killing 3 and seriously wounding 4, including her captain.
Jaguar severely damaged
Meanwhile, at 1550, the Jaguar was ordered out of Dunkirk harbour, to act as escort to the Lochgarry then waiting outside. While taking station ahead of the Lochgarry at about 1630 the second air attack over Dunkirk took place¹.
Dive-bombers attacked with salvoes of 4 bombs. About 14 salvoes were aimed at the Jaguar and one at the Lochgarry. A near miss severely damaged the Jaguar, holing her near the waterline and putting her engines and steering gear out of action; a list to port developed. The destroyer drifted helplessly until, at 1645, she was in danger of drifting on to a wreck 50 yards away. The destroyer Express then sighted her and taking her in tow alongside transferred some of her troops. The skoot Rika, en route for La Panne beach, although she had been severely shaken by bombs off Middelkerke buoy, closed the
Jaguar and took off 295 troops. The Jaguar eventually reached Dover at
2350 (in spite of further high level bombing attacks at 2014 and 2026), making the last part of the passage under her own power. She was unable to take any further part in ' Dynamo."
Clan Macalister sunk
In the attack which damaged the Jaguar, the Lochgarry was also damaged by a near miss; she was, however, able to proceed, and did so unescorted.
Near 6 W buoy, she passed the S.S. Clan Macalister which, after having hoisted out 6 motor landing craft earlier in the day and subsequently embarked troops, had just been bombed and was on fire and sinking. The destroyer Malcolm had already taken off, the wounded members of the Clan Macalister's crew and some of her troops, and the minesweeper Pangbourne had embarked the remainder. The Clan Macalister settled on the sea bed on an even keel with her upper works above water, and remained on fire for days. For days also, she acted as a target for enemy airmen, who thought she was still afloat.
Gracie Fields abandoned
Continuing on her way near Kwint Bank buoy, the Lochgarry saw the paddleminesweeper Gracie Fields (which was carrying about 750 troops from La
Panne beach) hit amidships by a bomb. The Gracie Fields, unable to stop her engines, and with her upper deck enveloped in clouds of steam, continued underway at 6 knots with her helm jammed with 15° starboard wheel on.
Nevertheless, the skoot Twente, which was on her way to La Panne beach, secured alongside the circling Gracie Fields and transferred as many injured and others as she could. The skoot Jutland, returning from La Panne beach with 275 French troops, also secured alongside the Gracie Fields' disengaged side and took off some more of her troops.
Later, at about 1830, the minesweeper Pangbourne (which had just been holed on both sides above and below the waterline and had had 13 killed and
11 wounded by near misses off Bray beach) went alongside the Gracie Fields, transferred about 80 British troops, and took her in tow. The M/S Kellett, carrying 550 troops from Bray beach, led the Pangbourne, whose compasses had been put out of action by bomb blast. At 0130 next morning the Gracie
I At 1630 hours, a renewed spell of Luftwaffe activity began, fighters was on the line.
when none of our
(R.A.F. Narrative, p.327).
41

WEDNESDAY, 29TH MAY
CHAP. VI
were the 8 assault which landing had been craft loaded (A.L.C.'s), into, and under brought the command of
Cassidi, R.N., were A.L.C.'s 3, 4, 5, 8, 15, 16, 17 over by,Whe S.S. R. A.
Macalister. They off No. 6 W buoy, at about and 18. Clan was being hoisted causing out, the Clan Macalister to roll passed at speed, and both craft were rendered unfit down on A.L.C.18 did valuable work ferrying ing from six the A.L.C.'s beaches. however, some troops
French troops rush A.L.C.5.
Cdr. Cassidi, who was in A.L.C.5 proceeded some way up the coast and soldiers, SO many of them got on the boat was grounded. French carried on inshore; his craft was board immediately that rushed on all sides by then
The second attempt to embark troops failed, SO A.L.C.5 proceeded of the troops had to be forced off the French boat before she could be got off the beach. Some at the rate of about 3 trips an hour, air 50 men per trip, throughout the day, to La Panne beach¹. Thence, British troops were ferried to off-lying ships except for interruptions by frequent attacks. The A.L.C.5 made 15 trips.
A.L.C.16 is sunk
The A.L.C.16 (S/Lt. R.O. Wilcoxon, R.N.V.R.) made 7 trips, after which
"she was boarded by French soldiers, who overwhelmed the boat to such an extent that she became partially swamped, the starboard battery was flooded and both engines failed. Eventually sufficient French were evicted to enable
A.L.C.16 to be floated off and the port engine started"². In going astern, however, the port stern tube was damaged and water poured into the boat;
nevertheless, continually pumping and bailing, A.L.C.16 continued ferrying for a further 11 hours. She then went alongside the sloop Bideford to transfer a load of troops. S/Lt. Wilcoxon went on board the Bideford to arrange for a tow back to England. Then came the dive-bomb attack in which the
Bideford's stern was blown off. S/Lt. Wilcoxon was mortally wounded.
A.L.C.16 was heavily damaged, and sank in a few minutes; she had ferried about 600 troops.
French troops rush A.L.C.17
A.L.C.17 followed A.L.C.5 up the coast towards Bray beach. "On approaching the beach she was promptly boarded by a crowd of French troops who SO overloaded the boat that she grounded"³. With a falling tide she remained stranded for 3 hours. As the tide rose, the French. again attempted to rush the boat [but] the cox'n of A.L.C.17 procured the assistance of some
British troops, who, drove off the French "3. Ferrying was continued all day and throughout the night from La Panne, until the A.L.C.17's engines broke down; she was towed by a drifter to England next day for repairs.
A.L.C.'s 3, and 8 also ferried troops, and transported 20 and 10 troops respectively to Dover, where they arrived at 0400 next day.
M/B Minikoi sunk was the Minikoi. Unfortunately, at 0015/29, while still in the Downs, she
One of the earliest of the privately owned M/B's to start for the beaches was rammed and sunk by the M.A./S.B.6, which picked up her crew of three.
3 Report by A.L.C.16.
I 2 Report by A.L.C.5.
Report by A.L.C.17.
52

WEDNESDAY, 29TH MAY
CHAP. VI
Ships lost or damaged on 29th May
H.M. SHIPS SUNK
The destroyers Wakeful, Grafton and Grenade.
The armed boarding vessel King Orrry
The Special Service Vessel Crested Eagle.
The Paddle Minesweepers Waverley and Gracie Fields.¹
The Personnel Vessels Normania,1 Lorina, Fenella and Mona's Queen.
The trawlers Polly Johnson and Calvi.
The danlayers Comfort and Nautilus.
The drifter Girl Pamela².
H.M. SHIPS DAMAGED AND PUT OUT OF ACTION.
The destroyers Saladin, Greyhound, Intrepid, Montrose, Mackay, Gallant and Jaguar.
The sloop Bideford.
The minesweeper Pangbourne (required dockyard repairs).
The personnel vessel Canterbury.
The hospital carrier Isle of Guernsey.
OTHER VESSELS
SUNK A.L.C.16, the S.S. Clan Macalister (6,900 tons), the M/B's Minikoi,
Viewfinder, Bobeli, Hanora, Sceneshifter and Queen of England.
DAMAGED AND PUT OUT OF ACTION The tug Sun V.
Destroyers of the "H," "I" and "J" Classes withdrawn
As a result of the heavy casualties and losses amongst the destroyer force, particularly the misfortunes which befell those of the larger and more modern types, a consultation was held between the Admiralty and the Vice-Admiral,
Dover, on 29th May, which led to a decision to withdraw the 7 destroyers of the "H", "I" and "J" Classes from "Dynamo"3; they were the only modern destroyers remaining with Vice-Admiral, Dover. All destroyers of the "G" class⁴ were already out of action.
There remained available for "Dynamo" 15 destroyers::-
Esk
Malcolm
Verity
Express
Whitehall
Vanquisher
Anthony
Winchelsea
Sabre
Keith
Worcester
Scimitar
Codrington
Windsor
Shikari
Excluding any casualties, this number of destroyers might be expected to maintain a flow of one destroyer per hour to the coast and would lift 17,000
troops in 24 hours⁵. It is noteworthy that in spite of their unsuitability for the work of troop carrying, the 39 destroyers so employed in Dynamo"
brought off more troops-96,000-than any other type of ship (see Table 1).
The 45 personnel vessels brought off 87,000; the 36 minesweepers 46,000;
the 39 skoots 22,000; and among the smaller vessels, the 51 drifters brought off 12,000.
I Actually sank on 30th May, as a result of damage received on 29th May.
2 In collision with the Lydd off Dunkirk harbour on the night of 28th/29th May.
3 The Icarus, Impulsive, Intrepid, Ivanhoe, Harvester, Havant and Javelin.
4 The Gallant, Grafton, Grenade and Greyhound.
5 D.R. p.11, para. 37.
55

WEDNESDAY, 29TH MAY
CHAP. VI
Ships lost or damaged on 29th May
H.M. SHIPS SUNK
The destroyers Wakeful, Grafton and Grenade.
The armed boarding vessel King Orrry
The Special Service Vessel Crested Eagle.
The Paddle Minesweepers Waverley and Gracie Fields.¹
The Personnel Vessels Normania,1 Lorina, Fenella and Mona's Queen.
The trawlers Polly Johnson and Calvi.
The danlayers Comfort and Nautilus.
The drifter Girl Pamela².
H.M. SHIPS DAMAGED AND PUT OUT OF ACTION.
The destroyers Saladin, Greyhound, Intrepid, Montrose, Mackay, Gallant and Jaguar.
The sloop Bideford.
The minesweeper Pangbourne (required dockyard repairs).
The personnel vessel Canterbury.
The hospital carrier Isle of Guernsey.
OTHER VESSELS
SUNK A.L.C.16, the S.S. Clan Macalister (6,900 tons), the M/B's Minikoi,
Viewfinder, Bobeli, Hanora, Sceneshifter and Queen of England.
DAMAGED AND PUT OUT OF ACTION The tug Sun V.
Destroyers of the "H," "I" and "J" Classes withdrawn
As a result of the heavy casualties and losses amongst the destroyer force, particularly the misfortunes which befell those of the larger and more modern types, a consultation was held between the Admiralty and the Vice-Admiral,
Dover, on 29th May, which led to a decision to withdraw the 7 destroyers of the "H", "I" and "J" Classes from "Dynamo"3; they were the only modern destroyers remaining with Vice-Admiral, Dover. All destroyers of the "G" class4 were already out of action.
There remained available for "Dynamo" 15 destroyers:-
Esk
Malcolm
Verity
Express
Whitehall
Vanquisher
Anthony
Winchelsea
Sabre
Keith
Worcester
Scimitar
Codrington
Windsor
Shikari
Excluding any casualties, this number of destroyers might be expected to maintain a flow of one destroyer per hour to the coast and would lift 17,000
troops in 24 hours⁵. It is noteworthy that in spite of their unsuitability for the work of troop carrying, the 39 destroyers so employed in ' Dynamo "
brought off more troops-96,000-than any other type of ship (see Table 1).
The 45 personnel vessels brought off 87,000; the 36 minesweepers 46,000;
the 39 skoots 22,000; and among the smaller vessels, the 51 drifters brought off 12,000.
I Actually sank on 30th May, as a result of damage received on 29th May.
2 In collision with the Lydd off Dunkirk harbour on the night of 28th/29th May.
3 The Icarus, Impulsive, Intrepid, Ivanhoe, Harvester, Havant and Javelin.
4 The Gallant, Grafton, Grenade and Greyhound.
5 D.R. p.11, para. 37.
55

APPENDIX B
THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
Part V. List of Dutch Ships.
TRANSPORTED
Demok I (yacht)
M.74 (motor boat)
(Lt. Cdr. H.G. Boys-Smith, R.N.R. from Kestrel 1st June)
214
(L/Sea. R. W. Legg, Coxswain)
Part VI. List of Norwegian Ships.
S.S. Hird
(Capt. A. M. Fredhjem)
3,500
APPENDIX B
NAMED SHIPS AND VESSELS LOST AND DAMAGED DURING
OPERATION "DYNAMO "
(Dates in brackets)
Note: Large numbers of unnamed boats were also lost and damaged.
Part I. Ships and vessels lost
BY AIR ATTACK
DESTROYERS
GUNBOAT
Basilisk (1/6)
A.B./V.
Mosquito (1/6)
Grenade (29/5)
King Orry (30/5)
Havant (1/6)
Keith (1/6)
MINESWEEPERS
TRAWLERS
Brighton Queen (1/6)
DRIFTERS
Devonia (31/5)
Calvi (29/5)
Nautilus (29/5)
Boy Roy (27/5)
Gracie Fields (30/5)
Paxton (27/5)
Skipjack (1/6)
Polly Johnson (29/5)
Waverley (29/5)
PERSONNEL VESSELS
Clan Macalister (29/5)
HOSPITAL CARRIER
SEAPLANE TENDER
Crested Eagle (sp. S/V) (29/5)
Paris (3/6)
S.T. 243 (2/6)
Fenella (29/5)
Lorina (29/5)
Normania (29/5)
Queen of the Channel (28/5)
Scotia (1/6)
MOTOR LIGHTERS
X.149 (31/5)
LANDING CRAFT
TUGS
X.213 (31/5)
A.L.C. 16 (29/5)
St. Abbs (1/6)
St. Fagan (1/6)
BARGES
Lady Rosebery (1/6)
SMALL CRAFT
Doris (1/6)
Commodore (31/5)
Mirasol (1)
Southern Queen (P.L.17) (1)
DESTROYERS
BY TORPEDOES (E-BOATS)
Grafton (29/5)
TRAWLERS
Wakeful (29/5)
Argyllshire (1/6)
Stella Dorado (1/6)
I Date not known.
158

SIGNALS
APPENDIX G
7. It is a matter of great importance that these ships should be got ready as.
soon as possible.
Brabant1
Bart
8. Twente
Tilly
Antje
Hondsrug
Brandaris
Reiger
Delta
Lena
Princess Juliana
Borneo¹
Caribia
Oranje
Liberty
Vrede
Gorecht
Bernina
Fiducia'
Rika
Limburg'
Patria
Junior
Bornrif
Amstelroom
Deneb
Martha
Express
Mercurius¹
Aegiv
Jutland
1704/22
F.3. ADMIRALTY to VICE-ADMIRAL, DOVER, C.-IN-C. NORE, C.-IN-C. PORTSMOUTH, (R)
F.O.I.C. London, F.O.I.C. Southampton, F.O.I.C. Portland
Admiralty 1703/22 and 1704/22 to certain addressees only. The operation for which these ships are being prepared will be known as Dynamo.
1944/22
APPENDIX G
SIGNALS RE LACK OF SMALL CRAFT
Sunday, 26th May
1. ADMIRALTY to A/S CHATHAM, A/S PORTSMOUTH, (R) C.-IN-C. Nore, C.-in-C. Portsmouth,
V.A. Dover
Investigate and report how many cutters and whalers can be made available for immediate service under V.A. Dover.
2028/26
2. ADMIRALTY to C.-IN-C. PORTSMOUTH, VICE-ADMIRAL, DOVER (R) Combrax Portsmouth,
Commandant 1st D.C. Fort Cumberland
8 A.L.C's. with crews complete are available and will be embarked in S.S. Clan
Macalister at Southampton a.m. 27th May.
2337/26
Monday, 27th May
3. (ADMIRALTY) D.S.V.P. to COMMODORE, SHEERNESS (R) C.-in-C. Nore V.A. Dover
About 40 motor launches have been ordered to Sheerness of which 30 should arrive at daylight tomorrow Tuesday. The rest during the day. These will be manned on arrival at Sheerness
Request you will inform V.A. Dover when boats are ready for service.
2035/27
Tuesday, 28th May
Note: [At 0436. S.N.O. Dunkirk asked for all vessels to be sent alongside east pier.]
4. VICE-ADMIRAL, DOVER to S.N.O. DUNKIRK (R) Fighter Command
Further destroyers and small craft are being sent now to Dunkirk.
0630/28
SIGNALS RE BUILD-UP OF SMALL CRAFT
5. N.O.I.C. RAMSGATE to VICE-ADMIRAL, DOVER
1st Mine Recovery Flotilla vessels Lord Cavan, Fidget, Jacketa, Silver Dawn and Fisher Buoy. Tug Java. Drifters Lord Collingwood, Lord Rodney, Lord Keith,
Lord St. Vincent. Motor boats New Britannic, Walker I, Walker II, Angler, Nayland, sailed Ramsgate for Dunkirk.
1550/28
I Was not available.
165

INDEX
cut off, 8; to be held, by 13; E-boat), falls, 17.
27 (attacked 32, 46, 47, 54, 88 (shoots down Heinkel), 99'
104, 126.
71n.
Caleta, Calvi, 13n, 39, 43 (sunk), 44.
Canterbury, 16, 22n, 24, 29, 39, 42-3 (damaged), 48n, 54, 114n.
Cameron, Lieut., 79.
Canvey Queen, lost, 53.
Cap d' Antifer, 102.
Carama, 60.
Caribia, 29n.
Cassidi, Cdr. R. A., 51.
Caryandra, 71n, 74.
Casualties: Embarkation, 17, 32, 36, 64, 87 (final), 115.
Cecil and Lilian Philpot, 107n.
Cayton Wyke, 34n, 107n.
Cervia, 71n.
Chamois, 72n.
Chantecler, 54.
Chasse-Marée, 62n, 73n, 102.
Chico, 13n, 60n.
Christabel II, 71n.
Civilians, crews feel strain, 29, 48; supplemented by R.N., 48, 99.
Clan Macalister, sunk 41.
Claude, 59.
Clouston, Cdr., J. C., 44, 105, 110 (drowned).
Coastal Command, XIIIn, 38, 64, 83, 88-9, 93, 99-100, 115.
Coats, Lt. Cdr. E. C., 112.
Cockburn, Lt. Cdr., 49.
Cockle Bawley boats, 73.
Codrington, 28, 54n, 55, 61, 64n, 75, 77, 97, 101, 107n, 108-9 (sent back empty), 112n.
Coggins, Mr. C., 73.
Comfort, 36, 37 (sunk).
Commandant Delage, 35n.
Communications. Difficulties and delays, 57, 60, 122; on beaches, 67; established between Dunkirk and Dover, 67-8; closed down, 76-7.
Commodore, abandoned, 74.
Conidaw, 13, 60n.
Constant Nymph, 60n.
Corap, General 1.
Cordelia, 60n.
Côte d'Argent, 54n, 94, 102, 107n, 109, 112n, 114n, 118.
Coulthard, J. W., 110.
Coxyde. See Beaches.
Crested Cock, 71n.
Crested Eagle, 32n, 39, 43, 44 (beached), 46, 58 (burnt out),
Croswell, S/Lt., E. C., 36, 47 (lands at La Panne), 76n, 77.
Cyclone, 39, 42, 68-9 (damaged).
Dangerfield, Capt., 111, 119-20.
Daylight evacuation abandoned, 97-8; French Admiralty wish resumption, 105.
Decoster, F., 116.
Defender, 73n.
Dench, Mr. A. J., 73.
Denis Papin, sunk, 93.
Denny, Capt. M. M., 94.
Destroyers bombard Calais, 13; brought from W. A. and Portsmouth Commands, 20,
61, and from patrol and escort, 28, 34 not to stop to aid ships, 38; brought off most troops 55; H, 1, J classes withdrawn, 55, and ordered back, 61; G class all out of action,
55; not sent to Dunkirk harbour, 61; exhaustion of crews, 64, 113; heavy losses, 94
sent back empty, 108.
Devonia, beached to form pier, 83.
Diana Mary, 117.
Diligente, 73.
Dill, General Sir John, 10, 12 (becomes C.I.G.S.).
Dinard, 64.
197