St Nazaire Raid
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The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation w
HMS Campbeltown being converted for the raid. There are twin lines of armour plate down each side of the ship and the Oerlikon gun mountings. Two of her funnels have been removed, with the remaining two cut at an angle to simulate a German ship.
British Commandos, 1942
German 20 mm anti-aircraft gun
HMS Campbeltown wedged in the dock gates. There is an exposed forward gun position on Campbeltown, and a German anti-aircraft gun position on the roof of the building at right.
HMS Campbeltown (I42)
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HMS Campbeltown was a Town-class destroyer of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was originally US destroyer USS Buchanan, and was one of 50 obsolescent US Navy destroyers transferred to
St Nazaire Raid
…damaged. This would expose her to attack by British forces including the Home Fleet in the English Channel or the North Sea. The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and rammed into the Normandie dry dock south gate. The…
The newly transferred HMS Campbeltown (right) alongside her sister HMS Castleton
Starboard side view of Campbeltown as USS Buchanan in 1936
Dutch sailors on HNLMS Campbeltown.