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 was undertaken by the Royal Navy (RN) and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters on 28 March 1942. St Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, such as Tirpitz, sister ship of Bismarck, to return to home waters by running the gauntlet of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy and other British forces, via the English Channel or the North Sea.
HMS Campbeltown being converted for the raid. There are twin lines of armour plate down each side of the ship and the Oerlikon 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. Note the exposed forward gun position on Campbeltown and the German anti-aircraft gun position on the roof of the building at the rear.
The Louis Joubert Lock, also known as the Normandie Dock – after the large ocean liner that provided the impetus for the facility to be built, is a lock and major dry dock located in the port of Saint-Nazaire in Loire-Atlantique, northwestern France.
A ship in the Louis Joubert Lock
The Loire River side lock gates of the Louis Joubert Lock, the target of the St Nazaire Raid
View of the Louis Joubert Lock towards the Loire River
