Post by Administrator on Feb 12, 2021 20:31:04 GMT
VIA: National Memorial Arboretum
On This Day: in 1942 the German Navy carried out Operation Cerberus, also known as The Channel Dash.
A German naval squadron, including German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and their escorts, sailed from Brest in Brittany to German ports under the cover of the Luftwaffe. Hitler had ordered the German Navy to return the ships to German occupied ports to protect against the potential British invasion of Norway.
The British Authorities had anticipated that the Germans might run the blockade of Brest and had developed contingency plans called Operation Fuller. However, instead of passing in the middle of the night, the German ships went past Dover at midday. British forces were slow to react and the German Flotilla had advanced a long way along the Channel before action was taken.
Lt Commander Eugene Esmonde DSO led six Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers on a bombing run in an attempt to stop the German ships, however they were unable to find their fighter escort. Only 5 out of the 18 crew members survived.
Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay wrote "In my opinion the gallant sortie of these six Swordfish aircraft constitutes one of the finest exhibitions of self-sacrifice and devotion to duty the war had ever witnessed".
Esmonde was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for the valiant attempt, four officers were awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and an Air Gunner the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM).
However, during the operation the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit mines and were put into dry-dock for repairs. Despite the operation proving to be a tactical victory for the German Navy it was a strategic defeat - the German Navy had sacrificed their threat to Atlantic convoys for a hypothetical threat to Norway.
Gneisenau was bombed by the RAF on the night of 26/27 February 1942 while in dry-dock in Kiel and never went to sea again. The damage to Scharnhorst meant she was out of action for the rest of the year.
On This Day: in 1942 the German Navy carried out Operation Cerberus, also known as The Channel Dash.
A German naval squadron, including German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and their escorts, sailed from Brest in Brittany to German ports under the cover of the Luftwaffe. Hitler had ordered the German Navy to return the ships to German occupied ports to protect against the potential British invasion of Norway.
The British Authorities had anticipated that the Germans might run the blockade of Brest and had developed contingency plans called Operation Fuller. However, instead of passing in the middle of the night, the German ships went past Dover at midday. British forces were slow to react and the German Flotilla had advanced a long way along the Channel before action was taken.
Lt Commander Eugene Esmonde DSO led six Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers on a bombing run in an attempt to stop the German ships, however they were unable to find their fighter escort. Only 5 out of the 18 crew members survived.
Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay wrote "In my opinion the gallant sortie of these six Swordfish aircraft constitutes one of the finest exhibitions of self-sacrifice and devotion to duty the war had ever witnessed".
Esmonde was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for the valiant attempt, four officers were awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and an Air Gunner the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM).
However, during the operation the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit mines and were put into dry-dock for repairs. Despite the operation proving to be a tactical victory for the German Navy it was a strategic defeat - the German Navy had sacrificed their threat to Atlantic convoys for a hypothetical threat to Norway.
Gneisenau was bombed by the RAF on the night of 26/27 February 1942 while in dry-dock in Kiel and never went to sea again. The damage to Scharnhorst meant she was out of action for the rest of the year.