St. Nazaire Raid

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VIA: The History of Wales

Captain Stephen Halden Beattie from Montgomery, a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the St. Nazaire Raid which took place on 28th March 1942 during the Second World War.



Beattie was in command of the destroyer HMS Campbeltown which, under intense fire, he deliberately rammed into the dock gates of the Normandie dry dock. The ship had been packed with timed explosives which took the dock out of action, forcing German warships to return to home waters for repairs.

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VIA: History Hit

Today in 1942 HMS Campbeltown rammed into the gates of the St Nazaire drydock. It was the only Atlantic drydock big enough to fit the super battleship Tirpitz.

12 hrs later, delayed action explosives blew the ship up and destroyed the gates.

The dock was rendered unusable until the end of the war.

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ST NAZAIRE, 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ‘GREATEST RAID’

ST NAZAIRE, 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ‘GREATEST RAID’

Today is the 80th anniversary of the "Greatest Raid"; Operation Chariot in St. Nazaire.
The fallen from this audacious raid are remembered by the CWGC in Escoublac-la-Baule War Cemetery to the west of St Nazaire among the 325 British and Commonwealth burials of the Second World War. These include Sergeant Thomas Frank Durrant, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry conduct during the raid. Many of those who have no known grave are commemorated on the Brookwood Memorial.

Find out more here: LINK

Commonwealth War Graves Commission