The St. Nazaire Raid (also called Operation Chariot ) was a successful British seaborne attack on the heavily defended docks of St. Nazaire in occupied France on the night of March 28 , 1942 during World War II. The operation was undertaken by Royal Navy and Army Commando units under the auspices of Louis Mountbatten's Combined Operations. St. Nazaire was targeted as the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, namely the Tirpitz , to return to home waters rather than seek safe haven in the Atlantic coast.
The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown commanded by Stephen Halden Beattie and accompanied by 18 shallow draft boats, rammed the St. Nazaire lock gates and was blown up, ending use of the dock. Commandos landed on the docks and destroyed other dock structures before attempting to fight their way out. Out of 611 Royal Commandos who entered the St. Nazarie harbour, only about 200 or more suceeded in landing at the docks. All but 27 of the commandos that landed were either killed or captured: 22 escaped back to Britain in the Motor Torpedo Boats and five escaped to the Spanish border. Five Victoria Crosses were awarded to men involved in the raid, which has been called The Greatest Raid of All .
St. Nazaire
Several features of St. Nazaire made it worth attacking. The main target was the Forme Ecluse Louis Joubert, the biggest dry dock in the world at that time, capable of holding the largest Kriegsmarine (German Navy) warships and the only dock of that size on the Atlantic coast. The British, intent on maintaining a conventional naval power advantage over the Germans, feared that the Tirpitz would be transferred to St. Nazaire. The dock had been built between 1928 and 1932 to accommodate the SS Normandie liner and is sometimes referred to as the Normandie Dock . It was 1,148 feet (350 m) long and 164 ft (50 m) wide, connecting at one end into the Penhoet basin and entering the estuary at the other. The lock gates of the dock were caisson-and-camber, each 167 feet (51 m) long and 35 feet (11 m) thick constructed of hollow steel sections.
As well as the dock the harbour included a new submarine base being built by the Organisation Todt with fourteen enormous submarine pens. It was connected to the sea via two entrances both fitted with lock systems, one opening east near the Normandie Dock and one opening south into the new (1907) avant-port .
The German defences at St. Nazaire were considered the second toughest in western France after those of Brest. Both sides of the estuary approach were fortified and were manned by the 280th Naval Artillery Battalion (commanded by Edo Dieckmann) and the 22nd Naval Flak Battalion (commanded by C. C. Mecke). Fortified guns on the northern shore included four 150 mm howitzers, four 170 mm guns and four 75 mm guns at Chémoulin, south-west of St. Nazaire and four 88 mm guns and ten 20 mm or 40 mm guns at Villès Martin closer to St. Nazaire. Further away at La Baule were four 105 mm guns and two 240 mm railway guns. Across the estuary from St Nazaire were four 75 mm guns at St Gildas, another four at Le Pointeau and ten or so 20 mm guns at Mindin. In the harbour area were around 30 single 20 mm guns, two quad 20 mm guns, around fifteen 40 mm guns and a flakship, the Sperrbrecher 137 just off the new port. Heavy anti-aircraft defences were also in the town. Radar stations were operating at Le Croisic and at St Marc and all the German positions had searchlights. Around 1,000 troops manned these defences and there were a further 5,000 or so military personnel in the town. Excluding submarines the naval power in the town was limited to ten minesweepers, four small Hafenschutzboote and four torpedo boats.
British plan
The Combined Operations scheme relied on surprise. A flotilla of shallow-draft boats would speed up the estuary while the German defences were distracted by an air-raid. A destroyer carrying tons of explosives hidden inside it would be rammed into the exposed caisson of the Normandie Dock. Commando raiding parties would then disembark from the destroyer and accompanying vessels to attack and destroy 24 targets in the dock area. The raiding force would then be withdrawn by sea from the edge of the harbour via the "Old Mole" jetty. Some hours later delayed-action fuses (a group of pencil detonators were used together in order to guarantee ignition) would trigger the massive explosive charge on the destroyer.
British Forces
Initially, the plan was to have one destroyer as the explosive ship and eight motor launches. The final plan involved the destroyer, sixteen motor launches, one Motor Gun Boat and one Motor Torpedo Boat.
The destroyer was HMS Campbeltown , an obsolete craft. She was previously the USS Buchanan of the United States Navy, transferred to Britain early in the war as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. Campbeltown was given cosmetic modifications so that she would resemble a German Möwe class destroyer, though the resemblance was far from perfect. This step of the operation had only 12 days, so changes made were minor, such as cutting the ship's funnels and chamfering the edges to create a more German destroyer look. Other changes included the removal of main guns and other excess weight to reduce her draught to the minimum. Armament was reduced to a single QF 12 pounder (76 mm) gun and eight 20 mm Oerlikon guns. The explosives were placed just behind 'A' gun position, consisting of 24 Mark VII depth charges. These charges were concealed from German military personnel (who would undoubtedly search the ship after it hit the lock gates) by enclosing them in steel tanks and a layer of concrete. Each depth charge contained 132 kg of amatol, giving a total explosive charge weight of 3.17 metric tons.
The ship was to ram the caisson and then be scuttled to prevent her removal before she could explode. Campbeltown was commanded by Lieutenant-commander S. H. Beattie and the crew was reduced to 75.
The Motor Launches were the Fairmile B craft designed by Fairmile Marine, 112 feet (34 m) long and 19.5 feet (5.9 m) in beam. They were powered by two 650 bhp (480 kW) petrol engines. Built of mahogany they had very little armour and were vulnerable to fire and damage to the hydraulic steering system. They were armed with a 20 mm Oerlikon for air defence, four 0.303 inches (7.7 mm) Lewis Guns and depth charges. With a normal crew of twelve, on Operation Chariot each carried fifteen commandos and extra fuel tanks.
The Motor Gun Boat MGB 314 was added to act as a headquarters ship for the naval command. She was a Fairmile C type, slightly smaller than the 'B', but powered by three 850 hp (630 kW) engines, each driving a shaft and screw, capable of almost 30 knots (56 km/h). She was armed with one automatic QF 2 pounder (40 mm) forwards, one semi-automatic Rolls-Royce QF 2 pounder amidships and two 0.50 inches (13 mm) Vickers machine guns. She was also fitted with radar and an echo sounder.
The Motor Torpedo Boat, MTB 74, captained by Sub-Lieutenant Mickey Wynn, was a special craft, a Vosper & Company motor-boat modified to carry delayed-action torpedoes weighing 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg) each. The torpedo tubes were mounted high enough on the MTB to allow them to be fired over torpedo nets. The craft was also equipped with five Hotchkiss machine gun s. With engines generating over 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) she was capable of almost 45 knots (83 km/h) but consumed so much fuel that she had to be towed most of the way to the target. She and all the other motor boats were painted a special shade of purple, dubbed 'Plymouth Pink', designed to make them less conspicuous to searchlights.
The group was escorted most of the way to the target by two Hunt-class escort destroyers, HMS Atherstone and Tynedale .
611 men were employed in the attack. The naval commander was R. E. D. Ryder and the Commandos were led by Lieutenant-Colonel A. C. Newman. The Commando force was divided into three groups, two on the motor launches and one on Campbeltown . The Commando groups were further divided into demolition squads and protection squads. The demolition squads carried 60 to 90 lb (27 to 41 kg) of demolition equipment each, mainly explosives and cordtex, sledgehammers and axes. With the demolition men carrying so much kit they were only armed with pistols, the protection squads with Thompson guns, hand grenades and Bren guns were there to defend them while they worked.
The bomber support was 35 Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys and 25 Vickers Wellingtons, although this force was greatly reduced before the operation due to the needs of RAF Bomber Command. Its effectiveness was further diminished by the order of Churchill to bomb only clearly identified targets to minimise French casualties; heavy cloud obscured the target on the night.
The raid
Cosmetic Bases * Soapmaking * Conditioners * Lotions * Creams ...
Essential Wholesale manufacturers one of the largest selections of natural and organic Cosmetics Bases using the best botanicals from around the world. Supplying hundreds of Soap ...
Cosmetic Bases * Mineral Makeup * Organic * Natural * Soap Making ...
Manufacturer and distributor of the largest selections of natural and organic Cosmetics Bases in the world using pure botanical ingredients from around the world. Supplier of ...
Cosmetic_Bases | SoapCrafters Soap Making Supplies
Soap Making Supplies & Lip Balm Making Products 877-484-5121
J.Crow's® Marketplace, J.Crow Company, Herbs, Spices, Essential Oils ...
Cosmetic Bases ... Shipping Costs Hint: You will save on shipping by increasing the items in your order
Cosmetic Bases,Unscented Bases,Natural Bases,Soap Making,Bases ...
Cosmetic Bases,Unscented Bases,Natural Bases,Soap Making,Bases,cosmetics,Soapmaking,Bulk Bases,wholesale,natural,pure,organic Essential Oils,Pure,Organic,Natural,Wholesale ...
Cosmetic Bases
Cosmetic Bases New Directions Aromatics offers the finest in essential oil, precious oil, carrier oil, certified organics, botanical extracts, raw materials, floral waters, clay ...
Cosmetic Bases - Naturallythinking Aromatherapy & Spa Natural Products
AROMATHERAPY - COSMETIC BASES from Naturallythinking Aromatherapy Spa Natural Products
Cosmetic Bases - Home
UK Supplier of Cosmetic Bases, Natural Cosmetics, Organic creams and lotions, Base Cosmetics and Cream bases, lotion bases
Ultra Premium Cosmetic Bases
Ultra Premium Cosmetic Bases New Directions Aromatics offers the finest in essential oil, precious oil, carrier oil, certified organics, botanical extracts, raw materials, floral ...
NDA Wholesale Moisturizer Cosmetic Base
Premium Moisturizer Cosmetic Base at Wholesale Prices Essential Oils,Pure,Organic,Natural,Wholesale Aromatherapy Essential Oils,Carrier oils,absolutes,Essential Oil,cosmetic bases ...