TNA MT 40 66

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THE DUNKIRK EVACUATION.
s.t. "TANGA".
158
May 30th.
At 9-15 p.m. left Tilbury Landing Stage towing 12 ships
lifeboats anchored off Southend 11-0 p.m.
May 31st.
At 1-40 a.m. received orders to get underway at 4-0 a.m.
and tow boats to Ramsgate. Anchored off Ramsgat about 10 a.m.
At 2-0 p.m. four Lewis guns and two gunners came on board, also
Liut. Com. and Lieut. R.N.R. We then took six boats in tow and
proceeded towards Dunkirk.
About 7-30 p.m., when nearing Dunkirk, German 'planes
started bombing and machine-gunning. When the bombs exploded it
seemed to lift us up out of the sea. We arrived off Dunkirk Harbour
about 8-40 p.m. but had to go 6 miles further on tb the beaches.
We sipped our boats and hung off. Our boats had to fill up and
take the troops to the larger vessels.
1st June.
About 3-50 a.m. some of our boats returned to us with about
16° troops. We took them on board, abandoned all but one motor boat
and had to run for it. When abreast of Dunkirk Harbour we fell in
with a small boat with 6 men in it. We stopped and picked the up
and they were the sole survivors of 25 from the H.M. Tug "ST. FAGAN",
which had been bombed with her tow of three Thames barges, two of the
barges were also blown up. A mile further on we picked up Barge
"PUDGE" with four men on board, two badly wounded. So we towed her
back to Ramsgate where we anchored off at 9-0 a.m. Motor boats came
off and landed our troops. At 4-0 p.m. we hove up, towing four boats
and proceeded again to Dunkirk, arrived off about 10-30 p.m., slipped
our boats as before and we paddled about outside.
2nd June.
At 3-30 a.m. we were ordered to clear out and run for it.
Not one of our boats had returned to us. Othe r boats had brought
us about 90 British and 8° French troops to us, so we proceeded back
to Ramsgate, towing one disabled motor boat, arriving back at 8-0 a.m.
3rd June.
At 4-30 p.m. we left Ramsgate once again towing 4 motor boats.
Arrived off unkirk at 11- p.m. Slipped our boats and awaited as before.
4th June.
About 2-° a.m., Tugs "SUN IV,XV", "RACIA" and "TANGA" were
ordered to go alongside Pierhead inside and get as many troops as possible
We all went in, no sooner had we got alongside the ladders when we were
ordered to clear out as fast as possible. We only managed to get
37 French toops, not any of our boats returned to us. We cleased
the Pier head about 2-35 a.m., when a German plane started bombing.
Our Lieut. Com. gave orders to fire our guns. We were firing 5
Lewis and 3 Bren guns. There were about 50 men on our deck aft and
they all say that our Lewis gunner aft with twin Lewis guns brought
the 'plane down. We saw the 'plane crash from our bridge and we were
alll happy about it. About 3 miles from the North Goodwin Lightship
we fell in with a French fishing Lugger with a crew of three on board,
as they did not appear to know where they were ge took them in tow and
anchored them off Ramsgate about 7-30 a.m.
(Signed) H.P. Gouge.
Master of Tug "TANGA".