rkieran@SH.CS.NET (Robert F. Kieran) (07/24/90)
From: "Robert F. Kieran" <rkieran@SH.CS.NET>
I recall three major points with regard to the raid on Dieppe:
1. The drydock here was one of the largest in Europe, and the only one on
the French coast which could handle the Tirpitz, the largest warship
afloat at that time. (56,000 tons comes to mind, but I may be mistaken).
If the drydock could be knocked out, the operational range of the Tirpitz
could be restricted, as she would have to return to Germany for any
substantial repair work. The Canadians rammed the drydock gates with an
old destroyer loaded with explosives, which they detonated with great
effect. The dock was out of commission for the duration.
2. The Germans had a radar installation on the bluffs overlooking the
sea, which they used for early detection of incoming Allied air raids.
The Brits were very interested in checking out the hardware to see how
far the Germans had advanced. I believe that there were some Allied
radar experts along to eyeball the equipment if it was impossible to
bring it back to England.
3. There was some controversy afterwards about the handling of German
prisoners captured by the Allies during the raid. Apparently a number
of members of the Organization Todt,(OT) the German civilian construction
agency responsible for the construction of the Westwall, we captured
and hogtied in such a way that they strangled themselves. (The OT wore
a paramilitary uniform, but were not usually armed.) Germany protested
this action, and sent details of the OTs uniforms to the Allies via
neutral channels to prevent any repetition in the future.
Most of the above information comes from "Green Beach", a book
I read several years ago, which was concerned with the Dieppe raid.
Alas, I cannot recall the author.
Bob Kierananderson@prl.dec.com (07/25/90)
From: anderson@prl.dec.com >From: "Robert F. Kieran" <rkieran@SH.CS.NET> > I recall three major points with regard to the raid on Dieppe: > > 1. The drydock here was one of the largest in Europe, and the only one on >the French coast which could handle the Tirpitz, the largest warship >afloat at that time. (56,000 tons comes to mind, but I may be mistaken). >If the drydock could be knocked out, the operational range of the Tirpitz >could be restricted, as she would have to return to Germany for any >substantial repair work. The Canadians rammed the drydock gates with an >old destroyer loaded with explosives, which they detonated with great >effect. The dock was out of commission for the duration. This was not the Dieppe raid, rather it was a commando raid on St. Nazaire, France. The commandos rammed the Campbelltown (sp ?), an old destroyer, into the drydock. The explosives in the ship were wired with delayed action timers, so it wasn't until the next day that they went off. (The book where I read this had a great picture taken by the Germans of people milling around the ship minutes before the explosives went off). The commandos also raided some of the shore facilities around the drydock. You were correct when you wrote that the drydock was put out of commission for the duration of the war; as I recall, the Tirpitz didn't put to sea again after the raid. Also, I have some doubt that the Tirpitz was the largest warship afloat; I believe that at least the Yamoto was bigger. Sorry I couldn't provide the reference for this information, but the book is 6000 miles away... Craig Anderson craig@cs.washington.edu
davecb@yunexus.YorkU.CA (David Collier-Brown) (07/25/90)
From: davecb@yunexus.YorkU.CA (David Collier-Brown) rkieran@SH.CS.NET (Robert F. Kieran) writes: > I recall three major points with regard to the raid on Dieppe: > 1. The drydock here was one of the largest in Europe, OOPS! I think that was St. Nazaire (sp?), a previous target of Combined Operations. -dave -- David Collier-Brown, | davecb@Nexus.YorkU.CA, ...!yunexus!davecb or 72 Abitibi Ave., | {toronto area...}lethe!dave Willowdale, Ontario, | "And the next 8 man-months came up like CANADA. 416-223-8968 | thunder across the bay" --david kipling