TNA / MT 40 66

TNA MT 40 66

Collection details

TNA MT 40 66

Ministry of Transport records containing a Dynamo vessel list and reports from masters and crews engaged in the evacuation, covering 1940–1947.

Holding archive: TNA
Collection reference: MT 40 66

View the archive catalogue entry ↗

Source: The National Archives, Kew, MT 40/66. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing only pages tagged with the vessel name Swift. Tags are exact matches from this collection’s OCR tag index. Clear vessel filter ×

3 matching pages. OCR may contain transcription errors.

List page 1 of 1 Showing document pages 15–158 of this collection

A note about image and OCR quality

Every reasonable effort has been made to present these document images as flat, straight and accurately cropped as possible. Historical records can be difficult to photograph or scan because of tight bindings, deep gutters, page curvature, folds, creases, fragile paper, uneven edges, shadows, glare, skewed pages, fading, stains, tears, attachments and restrictions on how a document may be handled. These conditions can distort parts of an image and consequently affect the OCR transcription.

Considerable post-production work has been undertaken to crop, align, flatten and enhance the images where practicable, but the results represent our best effort rather than exact facsimiles. Text showing through from the reverse of a page, printed backgrounds, stamps, ruled lines, marks and text visible from neighbouring pages may confuse or spoil OCR output. Handwriting is not reliably recognised and, in most places, may be missing, incomplete or incorrectly transcribed. Always check the page image and, where accuracy matters, consult the original record held by the identified archive.

OCR is not a transcription. It is machine-generated text used to create research tags and help locate names and references within the source images; it should not be read as a verified narrative.

Page

Image

OCR text

OCR tags

Page 2.
LIST OF SHIPS WHICH TOOK PART IN OPERATION "DYNAMO" - 26TH MAY - 4TH JUNE, 1940.
PART I - BRITISH SHIPS (continued)
MINESWEEPING CRAFT.
ALCMARIA
JEANNIE MACINTOSH
RECERD
ARLEY
JOHN AND NORA
RELONZO
BOTANIC
JOHN CATTLING
RENASCENT
BROCK
LORD BARHAM
RESTRIVO
#
CALVI
LORD CAVAN
REWGA
CLYTHNESS
LORD COLLINGWOOD
RIG
CHICO (E.S.)
LORD GREY
SARAH HYDE
/
COMFORT
LORD HOOD
SARGASSO
CONIDAW
LORD INCHCAPE
SATURN
DORIENTA
LORD KEITH
SILVER DAWN
FEASIBLE
LORD MELCHETT
STARLIGHT RAYS
FIDGET
LORD RODNEY
STELLA RIGEL
FISHER BOY
LORD ST. VINCENT
STRATHELLIOTT
FYLDEA
MARE
STRIVE
GENIUS
MARETTA
SWIFT WING
GULA
#
NAUTILUS
TARANSAY
GULZAR
OLIVAE
THOMAS BARTLETT
INVERFORTH
OUR BAIRNS
THOMSONS
JACKETA
OVERFALLS
THREE KINGS
JACKEVE
POLLY JOHNSON
TWEENWAYS
UNICITY
A/S TRAWLERS.
ARGYLLSHIRE
KINGSTON ANDALUSITE
SPURS
BLACKBURN ROVERS
KINGSTON OLIVINE
STELLA DORADO
CAPE ARGONA
LADY PHILOMENA
THURINGIA
CAYTON WYKE
OLVINA
TOPAZE
GRIMSBY TOWN
ST. ACHILLEUS
WESTELLA
KINGSTON ALALITE
SAON
WOLVES
THAMES SPECIAL SERVICE SHIPS.
CRESTED EAGLE
GOLDEN EAGLE
ROYAL EAGLE
M.A/S.B's. M.T.B's. ETC.
D.C. MOTOR-BOAT
M. A/S. B. 10
M.T.B. 68
( ex "EXCELLENT")
M.T.B. 16
M.L. 100
M. A/S. B.6
M.T.B. 22
M.T.B. 102
M.A/S. B. 7
M.T.B. 67
M.T.B. 107
DOVER FLARD-BURNING DRIFTERS
BOY ROY
GOLDEN GIFT
PAXTON
EILEEN EMMA
GOLDEN SUNBEAM
SHIPMATES
FORECAST
LORD HOWARD
THE BOYS
GERVAIS RENTOUL
LORD HOWE
TORBAY II
GIRL GLADYS
MIDAS
UT PROSIM
GIRL PAMELA
NETSUKIS
YORKSHIRE LASS
YOUNG MUN
Sunk.

Alcmaria Argyllshire Arley Boat Botanic Boy Roy Brock Calvi Cayton Wyke Chico Comfort Conidaw Crested Eagle D.C. Dawn Dorienta Eileen Eileen Emma Feasible Fidget Fisher Boy Forecast Fyldea Genius Gervais Rentoul Girl Gladys Girl Pamela Golden Eagle Golden Gift Golden Sunbeam Grimsby Town Gula Gulzar Inverforth Jacketa Jackeve Jeannie MacIntosh John Cattling Kingston Alalite Kingston Andalusite Kingston Olivine Lady Philomena Lord Barham Lord Cavan Lord Collingwood Lord Grey Lord Hood Lord Howard Lord Howe Lord Inchcape Lord Keith Lord Melchett Lord Rodney Lord St. Vincent Mare Maretta Midas Nautilus Netsukis Olivae Olvina Our Bairns Paxton Polly Polly Johnson Relonzo Renascent Restrivo Rewga Rig Royal Eagle Saon Sargasso Saturn Shipmates Silver Dawn Spurs Starlight Rays Stella Rigel Strive Sunbeam Swift Swift Wing Taransay Thames The Boys Thomsons Three Kings Topaze Torbay II Tweenways Wolves Yorkshire Lass Dover Fisher Johnson Kings May Page Swift Thomas Young

OCR table 1 from document page 32
		smop 4994 not




		Pi









			Pi
			g ER

St. Andrew Swift Bond Penny Swift

158

- 2 -
56
During the time we were anchored in this place we could, during the day, hear the roar and fury of the guns and mines on the French coast, the concussion of which was shaking the "LOCHGARRY" at her anchorage twenty-one miles away, and at night the same pounding went on with the addition of immense fires shooting up in the sky - "Calais" on fire? I took bearings by compass to verify this; it came out to a degree and next morning we heard the wat" asid OMJ 202 STOW ent news. At night the dropping of magnetic mines round about was a common occurrence, and the rat-tat-tat of the Spitfires chasing the enemy away, until at last nobody was going to bother getting out of his bed to see them. But if you did get up you were sure to find you were not the only one, although they had faithfully promised to stick to their bunks. They would be in their stocking soles, keeking out in some corner. It would be like a great display adw dom of fireworks, and one would wonder how many tons of lead were active in the sky after the minelayer, or whether he would manage to get clear.
On May 28th at 4.30 a.m. orders were received to proceed to Dover for one fuel and water at 6 a.m., and at 7.5 p.m. same day we loaded provisions and made various preparations for going to Dunkirk. At 8.56 p.m. we cast off from one
Admiralty Pier bound for Dunkirk by a certain route. The night was dark and hazy, and when we nearly bumped up against the North Goodwin Light vessel, which was not lit, and after a bit of shouting to the light vessel, I dropped anchor and we were at stand-easy till 3 a.m. Having no light of any kind we had to keep a very good lookout. We felt a mighty wash rocking the ship fore and aft, and right close beside us five destroyers passed at full speed, without apparently taking the slightest notice. Shortly after another large ship was bearing down on us, and passed quite close, and after heaving up anchor we could still see her hull faintly in the gloom. We made up on her and afterwards learned this was the "CLAN MACALISTER" which I guessed to be going the same way as ourselves, as by now Dunkirk was the only place on the coast where she could be going.
At 6.48 a.m. on the 29th May we were at the West Hinder Buoy. Behind us, tearing along at top speed, was what well may have been termed the "Channel
Fleet". the swift steamers that had left Dover in the early morning, among them being the "KING GEORGE V". Each as they passed the "LOCHGARRY" gave us a hearty wave of hands and bonnets. All of them soon passed; on our port bow was a British Destroyer, and one which we recognised as the one funnel
Polish Destroyer. They were going round in a circle which was gradually getting smaller, both of them, I believe, taking cross bearing on a submarine.
When the circle got to the smallest possible round they each dropped several depth charges about the same spot. We were watching for wreckage, but did not successfully. see any. This would be the smallest depth at which a submarine could operate
A while later the Mate said he saw what appeared to be a spent torpedo on the surface, but I did not see it. But if there was a submarine in that circle he certainly is there yet! Now we were in the channel from which the enclosed photo was taken (bottom picture), and the Mate and I argued as to whether it was whin bushes or men that covered the sand dunes. On looking through the binoculars we found that what appeared to be whin bushes were really armies of the B.E.F. It was hardly credible, but true, the beach was strewn with wrecks of ships at all angles, and motor lorries which were hardly visible, being camouflaged, were dashing backwards and forwards.
We steamed along the channel which was some ten miles to Dunkirk Breakwater.
The Breakwater was fully occupied when we arrived there - two and three steamers abreast. They were the steamers that had passed on the way in, and as many destroyers, and who would be at the outer end of the Breakwater but the
S.S. "KILLARNEY" our sparring partner. This was a great surprise. How did she get there? We left her in Dover, and they certainly did not pass us on the way. But the secret was that the "KILLARNEY" was not degaussed and for that reason they came by a different route from us! She was loaded with troops to full capacity and had a very heavy list to starboard, away from the Breakwater, and it was apparent that there was something wrong. Her belting had caught on the Breakwater with the falling tide; eventually the belting gave way and she was free to go, and backed out of the Harbour, closed up to us and waved, then full away the way she had come good luck to them.
The/

Clan Macalister Killarney King George King George V Lochgarry Swift TS King George V Day Dover George King Last Light May Miles right Swift West