Gift horse released in the united states as glory at sea is a 1952 british blackandwhite world war ii drama, produced by george pitcher, directed by compton bennett, that stars trevor howard, richard attenborough, james donald, sonny tufts, and bernard lee the film follows the story of the fictional ship hms ballantrae and her crew from the time they come together in 1940 until they go. Into the jaws of death britains operation chariot and the. The model, which shows the 1941 refit, is about 90% scratchbuilt. Bill tiger watson, who won an mc for his courage during. German personnel on hms campbeltown at saintnazaire, france, 28 mar photo 4 of 9. In 1940 the obsolete ship was handed over to the royal navy which was in desperate need of convoy escorts as part of a lendlease program. The obsolete destroyer hms campbeltown, accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the english.
The military mission in this movie is based on the real world war ii raid on saint nazaire by h. The former flush decked wwi destroyer campbeltown was converted to look like a german eboat and was loaded with explosives, and rammed into the normandie dry dock. The st nazaire raid or operation chariot was a british amphibious attack on the heavily. Packed with tons of high explosives, the destroyer, hms campbeltown, was rammed into the gates of the only dry dock capable of servicing the german battleship tirpitz. The massive hulk of the saint nazaire submarine base. British commandos with boats and a destroyer full with explosives against german 280 naval artillery battalion,22 naval. The st nazaire raid had been a success, but at a cost.
Campbeltown became one of the most famous of these ships when she was used in the st. Of the 622 men of the royal navy and commandos who took part in the raid, only 228 men returned to england. Nov 16, 20 hms campbeltown was a townclass destroyer of the royal navy during the second world war. Inside the french submarine espadon and base saintnazaire cnet. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive. Nazaire, signed by five of the survivors of the raid who are still living, said steve alger, leader of the. In military circle its called greatest raid of all time. Hms campbeltown was a destroyer of the royal navy during the second world war. It was decided that the campbeltown would be used to ram to dry dock and transport one group of commandos. Nazaire 28 march 1942 on march, a force of british commandos supported by the royal navy made an.
The wreck of hms campbeltown is dwarfed by the size of the dock. Hms campbeltown carried the assault, demolition and protection parties of commando group 3, under the leadership of major william oranmore copland. Nazaire in germanoccupied france, on march 28, 1942. A drama about the suicidal, daring british raid on heavily defended dry dock saint nazaire, in german occupied france, in 1942, by hms campbeltown, and 18 smaller craft. Hms campbeltown i42 was transferred to the royal navy in 1940 as part of the destroyers for bases agreement. Hms campbeltown, destroyer, expended in raid on st nazaire. St nazaire 1942 the great commando raid, ken ford, osprey publishing, 2002, isbn 9781841762319. The st nazaire raid or operation chariot was a british amphibious attack on the heavily defended normandie dry dock at st nazaire in germanoccupied france during the second world war. The explosion put the dry dock out of commission until the end of the war. Now known as the greatest raid of all, operation chariot was an attack on the docks at st nazaire in germanoccupied france. For the raid the campbeltown had two over funnels removed and the other two cut at an angle to resemble german destroyers. Nazaire the old lendlease 1919built american destroyer, uss buchanan, renamed hms campbeltown was converted for the raid and given the approximate appearance of a german moweclass escort vessel in the hope that this would cause the german defenders to hesitate.
The former flush decked wwi destroyer campbeltown was converted to look. Dr bill tiger watson, who has died aged 97, took part in the assault on the port of st nazaire the greatest raid of all and, after qualifying as a doctor, worked with relief. The operation was undertaken by the royal navy and british commandos under the auspices of combined operations headquarters on 28 march 1942. Campbeltown in a campaign known as operation chariot. The wreck of hms campbeltown can be seen inside the dry dock. Hms campbeltown became famous with operation chariot, the st nazaire raid, thus preventing the germans from using the dry dock facilities to repair their capitol ships. The following is aimed at newish players looking to find a little more information about various ships from events, for premium currency or for realworld c. Az films a war drama about the impossible british raid on heavily defended dry deck saint nazaire, in german occupied france, in 1942.
A key commitment made by stakeholders is to make a film accessible and. To make my ship, i used drawings from the anatomy of the ship aots book. Hms campbeltown i42 was a townclass destroyer, formerly the wickesclass destroyer uss buchanan of the united states navy. Building on the success of various commando raids during 1941, headquarters combined operations moved up the scale of size and complexity by electing to attack and deny the only dry dock that could take a german battleship for repairs, the normandie dock at st nazaire on frances atlantic coast. Apr 03, 2014 into the jaws of death britains operation chariot and the raid on saintnazaire. On 4 september 2002, a tree and seat at the national memorial arboretum were dedicated to the men of the raid. British commandos raid on st nazaire dock to destroy it for the rest of world war ii. Distributed on deck behind low, armoured screens, and in the wardroom beneath the bridge, their job was to move forward as rapidly as possibly upon impact, climb down to the dock caisson over the port and starboard bows, and subdue nearby gun.
The bell was returned to the town on 21 june 2011 when hms campbeltown was decommissioned. The st nazaire raid or operation chariot was a successful british amphibious. Hms campbeltown i42 was a townclass destroyer that in the royal navy during the second world war. She was transferred to the royal navy as part of the 1940 destroyers for bases agreement and was expended in the st nazaire raid in 1942. Hms campbeltown, lodged in the dock gates at st nazaire. Hms campbeltown makes historic final voyage to st nazaire. It was a feat of cunning and daring that helped to shape the war at sea. Warship profile 5 hms campbeltown uss buchanan, john wingate, profile publications ltd, 1971. To deliver an explosive charge big enough to demolish the massive lock gates, an old ship hms campbeltown was converted to look like a. St nazaire raid, march close up of hms campbeltown after the raid.
Aug 14, 2011 the british destroyer hms campbeltown sits destroyed, wedged into the dock gates of normandie dry dock at st. Hms campbeltown i 42 of the royal navy british destroyer. He commanded a force of small unprotected ships in an attack on a heavily defended port and led hms campbeltown in under intense fire from short range weapons at point blank range. Hms campbeltown, former us destroyer, after she rammed the dry dock gates at st nazaire, before her explosive charges detonated, on march the raid on st. Apr 08, 2011 the name hms campbeltown has a distinguished record of royal navy service during world war two, with honours for the battle of the atlantic, 19411942, in addition to operation chariot at st. Inside are several museums, and across the basin is the submarine espadon for. Her target, the outer caisson of the mighty normandie dry dock would, when destroyed, render inoperative the only facility on the atlantic coast capable of. In memory of the royal navy sailors and army commandos killed in the raid on st nazaire on 28 march 1942. Hms campbeltown was a townclass destroyer of the royal navy during the second world war. I have just been reading in my local french newspaper that a fictional film about the st nazaire raid will be released in 2012. Oct 11, 2017 for great gallantry in the attack on st.
However the port was miles up a well defended estuary. Extract the old entrance hms campbeltown commando list. The latter part of the film is clearly based on hms campbeltown and the st nazaire raid. Trevor howard as lieutenant commander hugh algernon. The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. The military mission in this movie is based on the real world war ii raid on saintnazaire by h. Hms campbeltown ex uss buchanan chariot operation age. By taking out the st nazaire docks, the british hoped to force large german. Navy destroyers, she was transferred to the royal navy in 1940 as part of the destroyers for bases agreement. Inside are several museums, and across the basin is the submarine espadon for the story behind this base and this tour, check. Inside the french submarine espadon and base saintnazaire.
The township also was presented with a print of the hms campbeltown at the dock at st. The disguised destroyer hms campbeltown, accompanied by 18. She was originally us destroyer uss buchanan, and, like many other obsolescent u. Hms campbeltown became famous with operation chariot, the st nazaire raid, after an extensive refit in 1942. Operation chariot was an audacious combined operation raid on the port of st nazaire in german occupied france. The whole film gets under the skin of the raid in a manner and depth that.
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