SALAMANDER

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SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 17 JULY, 1947                                 3315
Minesweepers—cont.
  HEBE                       (damaged aist May) PANGBOURNE ... (damaged agth May)
  KELLETT                    (   „ 2gth „ ) WESTWARD HO ... (      „ 3ist „ )


  ALBURY                               HALCYON                QUEEN OF THANET
  BRIGHTON QUEEN                       LEDA                   ROSS
  DUNDALK                              LYDD                   SALAMANDER
  DUCHESS OF FIFE                      MARMION                SALTASH
  EMPEROR OF INDIA                     MEDWAY QUEEN           SANDOWN
  FITZROY                              NIGER                  SNAEFELL
  GLEN AVON                            ORIOLE                 SPEEDWELL
  GLEN GOWER                           PLINLIMMON             SUTTON
  GOSSAMER                             PRINCESS ELIZABETH     SHARPSHOOTER
Total 36, of which 5 were sunk and 4 damaged.

Trawlers (Minesweeping, Anti-Submarine and " LL " sweep)
  ARGYLLSHIRE        ... (sunk ist June)      POLLY JOHNSON...    (sunk 2gth May)
  BLACKBURN
              ROVERS (          2nd „ )       STELLA DORADO...    (      ist June)
  CALIR                         29th May)     THOMAS BARTLETT     (     28th May)
  COMFORT                       29th „ )      THURINGIA     ...   (     29th „
  NAUTILUS                (     29th „ )      WESTELLA            (      2nd June)

  KINGSTON
       ALALITE            (damaged 2nd June)   SPURS              (damaged 2nd June)


  ARLEY                               GRIMSBY TOWN            LORD INCHCAPE
  BOTANIC                             GULZAR                  MARETTA
  BIOCK                               INVERFORTH              OLVINA
  CAYTON WYKE                         JOHN CATLING            OUR BAIRNS
  CHICO                               KINGSTON ANDALUSITE     SAON
  CORRIDAW                            KINGSTON OLIVINE        SARGASSO
  FLYDEA                             LADY PHILOMENA           WOLVES
Total 33, of which 10 were sunk and 2 damaged.

Special Service Vessels
  AMULREE ...                (sunk ist June)   CRESTED EAGLE... (sunk 29th May)
  GRIEVE                     ( „ ist „ )


  GOLDEN EAGLE                                  ROYAL EAGLE
Total 5, of which 3 were sunk.

Drifters (Mine Recovery and Flare Burning).
  BOY ROY                  (sunk 28th May)     LORD CAVAN      ... (sunk ist June)
  GIRL PAMELA          ... ( „ 29th „ )        PATON           ... ( „ 28th May)


  EILEEN EMMA                           GOLDEN SUNBEAM         SILVER DAWN
  FIDGET                                JACKETA                THE BOYS
  FISHER BOY                            LORD HOWARD            TORBAY II
  FORECAST                              LORD HOWE              UT PROSIM
  GERVAIS RENTOUL                       MIDAS                  YORKSHIRE LASS
  GIRL GLADYS                           NETSUKIS               YOUNG MUN
  GOLDEN GIFT                           SHIPMATES
Total 24, of which 4 were sunk,


Details

3308           SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 17 JULY, 1947
   It should be noted that in spite of (fc) the       Route X, and occurred between 1000 and 1040,
rate of embarkation had, in fact, come up to          to be again resumed at noon. After that there
expectations, and if other circumstances had          was a lull until 1550, when another attack was
permitted it would have been possible to adhere       delivered on Dunkirk Harbour and all shipping
to the original plan of lifting the final 4,000       therein for over half an hour. At 1800 the
B.E.F. off the beaches between 0130 and 0300          Vice Admiral received the following signal from
ist June.                                             Dunkirk: " Things are getting very hot for
Saturday, ist June.                                   ships; over 100 bombers on ships here since
                                                      0530, many casualties. Have directed that no
    62. Two Hospital Carriers which had sailed        ships sail during daylight. Evacuation by
 the previous evening returned shortly after          transports therefore ceases at 0300. If perimeter
 dawn.      Only one had succeeded in entering        holds will complete evacuation to-morrow,
 Dunkirk Harbour, the other had laid off four         Sunday night, including most French. General
 hours under heavy fire and returned to Dover.        concurs." The sense of this message was passed
 Four personnel vessels failed to enter Dunkirk       on to Rear Admiral, Dover, off the coast.
 during the night, but succeeded in the early
 flours of the morning.        One of these, the          65. In addition to the heavy scale of air
 PRAGUE, was bombed and severely damaged              attack during the afternoon the sea traffic was
 half-way across on the return journey, but suc-      very seriously interrupted by artillery fire
.ceeded in making the Downs with the assistance       brought to bear on Route X near No. 5 buoy.
 of tugs, where troops transferred to other ships     The fire appeared to be accurate and it is be-
 particularly A/S trawlers LADY PHILOMENA             lieved some French ships were sunk. Two
 and OLVINA. The supply of personnel vessels          French destroyers in the vicinity stopped
 was maintained throughout the day, not with-         British ships approaching from England on X
 out a series of setbacks caused by 3 ships failing   Route short of this point, and it became evident
 to sail and by 2 being turned back when on           that a very serious threat -to daylight evacuation
 passage by French Destroyers owing to heavy          was in being.. Meantime, the toll of casualties
 bombing and shelling of the approaches to            of ships during the day was mounting, particu-
 Dunkirk. Of those that operated during the           larly amongst the destroyers and shortly after
 24 hours, i was sunk, 2 damaged by bombs and         midday the Commander-in-Chief, Nore, called
 shell-fire and i by collision.                       the attention of the Admiralty to this, suggesting
                                                      the discontinuation of the use of destroyers by
   63. During the middle watch it transpired          day off the French coast. The summarisation
that no further troops were attempting to             of all these incidents led to the Admiralty
evacuate from La Panne off which were                 directing the Vice Admiral, Dover, to suspend
stationed one paddle minesweeper, a fleet             evacuation from Dunkirk at 0700, Sunday 2nd
sweeper and two destroyers, probably due to           June, and for it to be resumed the following
the heavy shelling from German guns eastward,         night or from 1730/2, depending upon the cir-
and later information was received that the           cumstances. From the above it will be seen
troops were marching from La Panne through            that there were to be no ships proceeding to
Bray towards Dunkirk. Accordingly, during             Dunkirk between 0700/2 and 1730/2. The
the night the Rear Admiral, Dover, instructed         above Admiralty directions crossed a message
all small craft to move west, with boats in tow,      from the Vice Admiral stating th'at all ships had
towards Dunkirk, and the Vice Admiral directed        been ordered to withdraw from Dunkirk before
all ships under orders for La Panne to other           daylight the following day, owing to the heavy
positions further west, concentrating the main        casualties to shipping.
effort on the beach immediately east of                   66. In spite of enemy action more than
Dunkirk.
                                                       60,000 troops were landed in the United King-
   To a request from Dunkirk for Hospital Ships,       dom during the 24 hours, thanks to the unremit-
the Vice Admiral replied at 0715 that the large        ting determination of Naval vessels who all
ship berths alongside at Dunkirk must be               executed a succession of round trips, interrupted
occupied by personnel ships and the wounded            only by necessary refuelling and who accounted
that could conveniently be embarked should go          for 70 per cent, of this total. The majority
with personnel.      This direction was in             of the surviving vessels had been operating
accordance with the Government policy pre-             ceaselessly for at least five days, and officers
viously communicated to the Vice Admiral.              and men were approaching a condition of com-
                                                       plete exhaustion.
   64. Soon after dawn enemy aircraft were
active and heavy bombing and machine gun                  67. As for personnel ships, steps were taken
attacks developed at 0500 over the whole area          to place on board each a Naval Lieutenant
from Dunkirk to La Panne. A second series of           Commander or Commander to advise the
attacks commenced at 0830 and lasted until             Master, and ten seamen to assist in handling
0900, during which time nearly every ship off          the wires in going alongside under fire. By this
the coast was subjected to intensive bombing           means it was hoped not only to ensure the
and machine gunning, formations of 30 and 40,          timely sailing of these essential ships, but also
machines being noted. During this attack               to eliminate the occasions when these vessels
BASILISK was put out of action off La Panne            had remained outside Dunkirk Harbour to
and later sank while struggling home. KEITH,           await a quiet opportunity to enter.
SALAMANDER and SKIPJACK, who were                          68. Early in the forenoon a number of Senior
moving westward along the coast as the Bray            Officers were despatched from Dover in fast
 and La Panne beaches had been emptied, were           motor boats to round up all stray motor boats
heavily bombed, the former was hit and set on          in the Downs and along the routes, and direct
fire and the latter sank. KEITH was aban-              them back in the evening to the beach stretching
 doned and finally sank. Nearly all troops on           i£ miles eastward of Dunkirk, and a second
 board KEITH and the crews of both vessels             large flight of tugs with lifeboats was prepared
 were rescued by other ships. A third attack            at Ramsgate to send over for what was hoped
 started over Dunkirk, extending well out along         to be a final effort off the beach. In addition