Also known as
Gossamer
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Wikipedia vessel details
Secondary-source table data; verify against primary records where available.
- Name
- HMS Gossamer (N63)
- Pennant number
- N63
- Flag
- Royal Navy
- Description
- Fleet minesweeper
- Built
- 1938
- Tonnage
- 875
- Commanding officer
- Cdr. Richard Cyril Vesey Ross, RN (S.O.)
- Trips to Dunkirk
- 6
- Troops landed
- 2,940
- Notes
- Swept the Channel with HMS Ross on 29 May
ORDE Registry
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Small Craft Service List
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No Small Craft records.
Red List (1939–40) — indexed references
These references come from the Red List index. Printed page numbers may differ from digitised image numbers; OCR may not reproduce the vessel name accurately.
- Gossamer — ADM 208/2, printed page 10
Red List (1939–40) — OCR
21 records21 potential matching records have been identified.
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Ship Details
These details have been aggregated from multiple sources and may include contemporary records, later recollections, claims or assertions for which no corroborating evidence has been identified. Inclusion does not establish that any account or assertion is accurate. The information may be incomplete, out of date, disputed or incorrect and should be checked against the underlying source records and independent evidence before being relied upon.
No additional ship details available.
Lloyd’s Yacht Register (1939)
Source: Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Heritage & Education Centre, Lloyd’s Register of Yachts 1939, digitised via Internet Archive. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Images have been converted, resized and watermarked for web display; machine-generated table OCR has been added.
No Lloyd’s records.
Document Collections — Tagged Pages
2 pagesImaged document collections containing pages whose OCR text or table data has been tagged with the name Gossamer. Open a collection to view the page images and transcriptions.
Details
SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 17 JULY, 1947 3315
Minesweepers—cont.
HEBE (damaged aist May) PANGBOURNE ... (damaged agth May)
KELLETT ( „ 2gth „ ) WESTWARD HO ... ( „ 3ist „ )
ALBURY HALCYON QUEEN OF THANET
BRIGHTON QUEEN LEDA ROSS
DUNDALK LYDD SALAMANDER
DUCHESS OF FIFE MARMION SALTASH
EMPEROR OF INDIA MEDWAY QUEEN SANDOWN
FITZROY NIGER SNAEFELL
GLEN AVON ORIOLE SPEEDWELL
GLEN GOWER PLINLIMMON SUTTON
GOSSAMER PRINCESS ELIZABETH SHARPSHOOTER
Total 36, of which 5 were sunk and 4 damaged.
Trawlers (Minesweeping, Anti-Submarine and " LL " sweep)
ARGYLLSHIRE ... (sunk ist June) POLLY JOHNSON... (sunk 2gth May)
BLACKBURN
ROVERS ( 2nd „ ) STELLA DORADO... ( ist June)
CALIR 29th May) THOMAS BARTLETT ( 28th May)
COMFORT 29th „ ) THURINGIA ... ( 29th „
NAUTILUS ( 29th „ ) WESTELLA ( 2nd June)
KINGSTON
ALALITE (damaged 2nd June) SPURS (damaged 2nd June)
ARLEY GRIMSBY TOWN LORD INCHCAPE
BOTANIC GULZAR MARETTA
BIOCK INVERFORTH OLVINA
CAYTON WYKE JOHN CATLING OUR BAIRNS
CHICO KINGSTON ANDALUSITE SAON
CORRIDAW KINGSTON OLIVINE SARGASSO
FLYDEA LADY PHILOMENA WOLVES
Total 33, of which 10 were sunk and 2 damaged.
Special Service Vessels
AMULREE ... (sunk ist June) CRESTED EAGLE... (sunk 29th May)
GRIEVE ( „ ist „ )
GOLDEN EAGLE ROYAL EAGLE
Total 5, of which 3 were sunk.
Drifters (Mine Recovery and Flare Burning).
BOY ROY (sunk 28th May) LORD CAVAN ... (sunk ist June)
GIRL PAMELA ... ( „ 29th „ ) PATON ... ( „ 28th May)
EILEEN EMMA GOLDEN SUNBEAM SILVER DAWN
FIDGET JACKETA THE BOYS
FISHER BOY LORD HOWARD TORBAY II
FORECAST LORD HOWE UT PROSIM
GERVAIS RENTOUL MIDAS YORKSHIRE LASS
GIRL GLADYS NETSUKIS YOUNG MUN
GOLDEN GIFT SHIPMATES
Total 24, of which 4 were sunk,
Details
3302 SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 17 JULY, 1947
uncertain, 2 power boats, at least 2 skoots, every prospect of the weather improving and
CALCUTTA, GALLANT, WAKEFUL, the surf reducing as the tide rose. Nevertheless,
VERITY, and GRAFTON, using what survived an increased number of H.M. Ships was'
of their own whalers and motor boats. This ordered to Dunkirk to augment the personnel
force was reinforced by 2 minesweepers at vessels, though it was feared that an accumula-
2115. Later reports of concentrations of troops tion of ships alongside the East Pier at Dunkirk
on the beaches were received, particularly at by day might well invite intensive air attacks.
La Panne and Bray. Craft approaching the Subsequently, 'this fear was fully to be
coast were directed accordingly. Naval Officer- justified.
•in-Charge, Ramsgate, was requested to main- 24. Meantime, considerable anxiety was felt
tain a continuous evacuation service by skoots as to the fate of the personnel vessels which had
between Margate and Ramsgate and the beach, been despatched in a steady stream to Dunkirk
and take over responsibility for servicing those commencing the previous evening. The first of
vessels. Meantime CALCUTTA, who was off these was due back at Dover about 0300, but
La Panne, reported that conditions for embarka- by 0900 nothing had been sighted or reported.
tion there were very bad owing to heavy surf, But at 0700, S.N.O. Dunkirk had reported that
but that they might improve with the rising the embarkation there was going on at the rate
tide. of 2,000 an hour, so it was presumed that the
Shortly after midnight CALCUTTA was in- transports had failed to enter the harbour during
formed that the Third Corps of the B.E.F. and darkness, had waited outside, and had com-
the Commander-in-Chief were all now at La menced to enter in succession at dawn. The
Panne. She was directed to make every necessity for continuous fighter protection in
endeavour to concentrate all destroyers and view of the exposure of these unarmed ships
light craft at that end of the beach with the while at Dunkirk and during the daylight pas-
object of embarking that force as soon as sage through coastal waters, was obvious. Con-
possible. stant touch was maintained with the R.A.F.
19. As regards enemy activity, this day the Commands to obtain continuous fighter protec-
Germans contented themselves with bombing tion during the hours when the Vice-Admiral,
the town and port of Dunkirk, but on a small Dover, estimated the largest concentration of
scale compared with that to be experienced vessels would be present, it being realised that
later, probably because of increasing R.A.F. the R.A.F. resources were not sufficient to pro-
air cover and also due to the fact that a heavy vide continuous air cover, and to dispense with
pall of smoke from the burning town covered •full cover at less important periods.
the operation most of the day. 25. At 0930 the belated return of the per-
sonnel vessels from Dunkirk commenced, and
Wednesday 2gih May. proceeded steadily through the day. In addi-
20. The Northern Route Y having been tion to the personnel vessels using Dunkirk the
swept, it was arranged to sail personnel ships Admiralty were informed of the -necessity for
to Dunkirk at daylight and to continue to sail X-lighters and other self-propelled lighters to
throughout the day; this route would take ships increase the facilities for beach evacuation. A
clear of the artillery fire on shore. Personnel Medical Party was shipped in VERITY for use
ships accordingly started at 0230. on the beaches, and a Naval Medical Party was
sent to Dunkirk.
21. Much consideration had been given to
the practicability of building piers on the 26. The considerable alarm as to the imme-
beaches using lines of barges. Reports from diate safety of the B.E.F. felt during the even-
ships that worked off the beaches showed, ing and early night of the 28th, which caused
however, that owing to the very gradual shoal- all available resources to be immediately
ing of the water at all states of the tide such a concentrated on the French Coast, eased during
barge pier to be effective, would have to be of the 29th. But emergency measures taken late
very great length, beyond the resources avail- on the 28th had an adverse effect on the orderly
able. organisation for evacuation so (necessary if effec-
tive measures were to be devised and put in
22. Information was received that the per- force.
sonnel vessels with their Mercantile Marine
crews were having 'difficulty in making the 27. Meantime, in the early hours of the 29th,
entrance to Dunkirk Harbour in the face of 'the an unfortunate disaster occurred involving the
navigational difficulties caused by a heavy loss of H.M. Destroyers WAKEFUL and
smoke pall over the entrance and in face of GRAFTON, and the danlayej COMFORT.
bombing and shelling encountered en route and WAKEFUL, after embarking troops at Bray,
whilst alongside. Nevertheless it subsequently sailed for Dover at 2300/28 by the Zuydecoote
transpired that at Dunkirk there had been a Pass and North Channel. Approaching the
good number of ships throughout the night, at Kwinte Whistle Buoy the speed of the ships
times exceeding the influx of troops. was 20 knots, and a zigzag of 40 degrees every
four minutes was started. At 0045 two torpedo
23. S.N.O. Dunkirk, and other Senior tracks were observed, one torpedo missed, the
Officers on the Coast reported during the early other hit amidships. WAKEFUL broke in half
hours that surf on the beaches was retarding and. the two portions sank in 15 seconds, each
boat work. S.N.O. Dunkirk, at 0709, asked remaining standing with the midship end on
for all ships to go to Dunkirk. The Vice- the bottom. All the troops on board went down
Admiral could not accept this as it was essential with the ship; certain of the crew floated clear.
to maintain lifts off the beaches as well as from After about half-an-hour motor drifters
Dunkirk Harbour, both from the aspect of the NAUTILUS and COMFORT arrived and
military situation and from the fact that Dun- started to pick up survivors, later joined by
kirk was limited by a bottleneck, formed by the GOSSAMER. Captain of WAKEFUL was in
narrrw gangway along the East Pier to the the COMFORT. GRAFTON and LYDD were
poinf= ?f embarkation. Furthermore, there was close and Captain of WAKEFUL warned
Operation Dynamo Map — Movement Logs
Movements recorded for Gossamer during the evacuation period, as plotted on the Operation Dynamo map.
| Departed | Route | Arrived | Troops | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Dunkirk | — | — |
Stationary
HMS report explicitly names this location; a complete dated movement is unavailable
|
TNA ADM 116 4649, page 89 |
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