The Saint Nazaire raid was a daring and audacious military operation undertaken by the British during World War II. On the night of March 28, 1942, a group of commandos and sailors launched an attack on the heavily fortified port of Saint Nazaire on the west coast of France. The aim of the mission was to destroy the dry dock and other infrastructure at the port, which was a key base for the German Navy's Atlantic fleet.
The raid was a complex operation involving a range of different units, including Royal Navy ships, RAF planes, and commandos from the British Army and Royal Marines. The plan involved using a specially adapted destroyer, HMS Campbelltown, to ram the gates of the dry dock and then detonate explosive charges to destroy the dock and its machinery. Meanwhile, other commandos would launch diversionary attacks around the port to distract the German defenders.
The Saint Nazaire raid remains a remarkable example of the bravery and determination of the British forces during World War II. The planning and execution of the mission were complex and risky, but the raiders showed incredible courage and skill in achieving their objective. The raid had a significant impact on the war effort, and its legacy is still felt today.
Animation, Directed and Produced by: The Warline
My granddad was one of those who lost his life during the raid, ordinary seaman Harold Westcott, MLB 267. Thank you for posting, for those of us with a personal link to Operation Chariot it really is appreciated
They were all brave men. Respects to your grandfather's memory.
@@sjb3460 Thank you, and the same to you. I think having personal links to WWII and even WWI makes these things even more relevant for us. It gives us a respect not just for our grandparents and even our great, great grandparents knowing that they were fighting to combat the Germans in WWI and WWIII
Your grandad is an absolute Legend 👍
I'm from saint nazaire and thx you😀
Your grandad was one of the many brave, brave men who carried out this raid without hesitation, many knowing they would not return. 💪👍🙏
Hi from Saint-Nazaire ! We have a memorial for this raid, and the forme Joubert still exists, same for the old mole. The U-boat Pens is now a cultural place, with a museum about Transatlantics, temporary exhibitions and concerts. Most of the bunkers of the harbour are now used for cultural purposes (History museums or exhibitions). You can go on the top of the Pens, and see all of the harbour. It's quite a weird city (according to people here to visit) with a lot WWII war stigmas Thanks for this video !
Yeah me tol :) verry fun to find someone who live her too
tout pareil
La même
En voyant marqué « Saint Naizaire » on a tous cliqué sur la vidéo
To talk about the stigmas of the war. I think it’s really obvious on the settlement of the city, there are a lot of huge straight road for exemple.
My grandad was one of the commandos on the Cambletown. He was one of the small team tasked with blowing the winding house. He survived but was captured by the Germans trying to escape the town and spent the rest of the war in a prison camp.
I forgot to mention that my grandad was Bob Hoyle. He was the one who did the raid with no trousers as he had to take them off as he fell into a burning phosphorus shell hole on the ship
@@robertrawlyss7373gotta keep an emergency kilt
As someone from Saint-Nazaire the battle on the map felt weirdly realistic, like... I've spent nights there wandering around the docks with my friends and this video really made my imagination go wild
It must be said that during WWII the British proved to be very intelligent and very very daring. Many of these missions were suicide for those who participated in them, but the British really proved to be brilliant.
Maybe the soldiers were intelligent, but I wouldn't necessarily say that as a whole. Even to this day, the British are too stuck on tradition.
@@domosrage5434 Nonsense
Lol. What complete crap. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
don't underestimate British superiority.
@@domosrage5434did you use all of your one braincell to type that?
I feel I need to mention that Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy also ensured Britain got supplies across the Atlantic!
I came here to point out the same but you already have already done so quite articulately.
And Norway and other nations as well.
I have always heard/read that the Japanese sister ships Yamato and Musashi were the largest battleships ever built. They were launched two years before the Tirpitz.
This is fantastic quality for such a small channel, you’ve got another subscriber now!
Thank u 😍
#MeToo
I've visited St. Nazare many years ago, very peculiar place with that huge concrete submarine bunker now turned into an art gallery.
Fun fact the. H.m.s.cambltown is a American made ship that was originally used during. W.w.1 as a submarine chaser class ship that was one of the ships that were given to the British military as a part of the lend lease program and because of the quality of the steel that the ship was used during that time period the steel that was manufactured by the carnage steel company that is why they can take a beating and still get the job done and if there are any model builders who can't find a copy of this ship look for a model of the. U.s.s.ward.its the ship that fired the first American shot in combat in. W.w.2 because they were the same class ship
No ship was 'Given' Every thing the US supplied to UK was paid for in one form or other.
My father who served in the Royal Navy in WW2 always said the US destroyers were some of the worst ships he ever saw. By RN standards, they were top heavy and the crews had serious doubts about their seaworthiness. The steel may have been first rate, the design not so much. He always felt that the RN got the short end of that bargain.
If that's the case they were a nightmare to submarines during .W.w.1 and. W.w.2 and they were a nightmare for drydocks to
Have any body ever herd of the difference between a beer keg and a coke can and that is why. U.s made navel ships are still the best and that is why a lot of other countries are always showed up when the. U.s government has them on sale and they have a great shelf life than ships from different countries
@@michaelmcclaryjr3752 is that why the ARA GERNRAL BELGARNO Only took 2 torpedoes to sink Not even the new torpedoes ( the new ones had defaults) Mk8 british torpedoes from ww2 sunk a VERY TOUGH ww2 American cruiser. During the Falklands war.
I had one of those rare chances to stop by in St. Nazaire when travelling in France. the U boat penns were massive and say what you want about the Nazis, they were phenomenal engineers
I am working in Saint Nazaire, as ship builder. All time I go for the run between docks, and always think who build this massive ship yard. Nice channel 👌. I am new subscriber
i got recommended this bc google knows my location, and i'm not disappointed at all. just last week we went to explore the bunkers on the coast of the city and they were still in great shape but a little flooded. most of the structure was still intact. it's very nice seeing a video about a little known town. Subscribed and hope to see similarly good content
HMS Campbeltown was originally USS Buchanan, one of the four-stack destroyers transferred to the Royal Navy. I can't think of a better use of an obsolescent ship regardless of nation of origin.
If you're going to get rid of a old ship during war Do it in style
I have been to Saint Nazaire last summer. The Normandy dock is truly a huge thing. As I was visiting the dock had a cruise ship in it which towered 15 stories above the area... You could see the thing from a mile away. All the infrastructure which was destroyed in the raid was rebuild and is still functional to this day.
Possibly one of the most daring and audacious raids of all time. These men must have had some big ol' balls!
There should be a blockbuster new film about this raid it would be a big hit 👍
The legendary Commandos. Chief of combined ops Lord Louis Mountbatten first discussed the possibility of raising an American Commando-type unit and suggested the name "Rangers".
Best description that I've found, by far, thanks
Glad it helped!
There's a 1hr documentary presented by Jeremy Clarkson which is here on KZhead.
Try reading 'The Greatest Raid: St Nazaire, 1942: The Heroic Story of Operation Chariot' by Giles Whittell
Hi from Saint-Nazaire!
Hello
Also check this out:- Sinking of the Shinano by the USS Archerfish Submarine 1944 Animated - kzhead.info/sun/jMiPma2ImZaYd6s/bejne.html The Channel Dash 1942 - kzhead.info/sun/fJppYp2BZ52Zf3k/bejne.html The Sinking of Blucher - kzhead.info/sun/m9B7m92lln2vaX0/bejne.html The Wake Island 1941 - kzhead.info/sun/i82yYJaNZ6ydY6M/bejne.html
Oh dear,,i could be dead before this man tells a short story,,
Good job making the video!
I hope this channel grows, subscriber 188.
Time to go magnet fishing !! As you cross the water on a very high bridge you can see those docks with your own eyes.
Medal of Honor European Assault 1st mission :)
I believe the algorithm has done you a wonder, good luck with your channel
You forgot to mention the few that somehow made it to Spain
incredible content and story telling
81 years ago today. The raid resulted in 5 VCs, 4 Distinguished Service orders, 17 Distinguished Service Crosses, 11 Military Crosses, 4 Conspicuous Gallantry Medals, 5 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 24 Distinguished Service Medals, 15 Military Medals, and 51 men Mentioned in Dispatches.
Awesome video
First ship which spotted Bismarck was polish destroyer "Piorun' "Thunder"
great video I am going to subscribe cheers
Awesome, thank you!
I had a grandfather and his brother was on hms Cambletown his brother Arthur C Henault also on HMS vindictive age 19 when she raided Belgium
I live in Saint nazaire :)
Great video, one mistake where you said they turned West when in fact they turned East, but you're forgiven, Never Eat Shredded Wheat - North, East, South And West even my wife remembers this now
Despite the heavy loss of life on the british side, the sheer audacity and cunning of this operation truly screwed over the Kreigsmarine's hopes of challenging the RN. They honestly NEVER recovered from this, since it was knocked out for the ENTIRE WAR.
I like how you don't shy away from using historical flags. I think it's better to remember history and learn from it then to censor it.
Just one addition: The Canadian flag for both the merchant marine and the bulk of the escort vessels across the Atlantic. Otherwise -great video.
@Gordon Freeman That's just minor details. I know it bugs you,, but it's not that important.
Hi From Saint Nazaire, Good video
I guess it was pretty lucky that the ship's timer was delayed then eh?
If they hadnt bothered with the "diversion" air raid, they could have been in there to do there work and split as per the plan. Sometimes its better to leave the enemy totally unaware until the moment of truth. I have experience of this.
0:17 The e at the end of Kriegsmarine isn't there purely for aesthetic appeal meaning it isn't silent in German as it would be in English.
The original "It's an older code sir, but it checks out".
4:18 "She was the largest ship in the world at the time" - That sounded wrong, because I knew that the St. Nazaire Dock was built with the SS Normandie in mind (and thus also called Normandie Dock), and why would they spend a lot of money to get a dock that was larger than required? Turns out the _Normandie_ was indeed lost a couple of weeks before the raid. However, the _Queen Mary_ was very much alive (and still is, barely), has almost twice the Tirpitz' displacement, is 60 m longer and has 2 m more draft. That was some sloppy research.
Perhaps the narrator meant "largest warship at the time"?
@@dapperfield595 That would be the Yamato.
@@korbendallas5318 Right my bad.
@@korbendallas5318 this was May 1941, the Yamato was not operational until October 1941
@@emma12345678961 Launched August 1940, I'd say it was a ship from then on, even if it wasn't operational. The Spruce Goose was never operational, and was still considered to be the largest plane in history.
No battleship could "go through Iceland". The Bismark sailed north and west of Iceland.
Great video! One detail though: Saint Nazaire is not in Normandie but in Brittany
You are right! noted
🤔 Great respect 🕊️ Good luck !
Good video. 👍👍👍
Thank you 👍
How is this still not a film? Well, at least i think.
excellent
Increíble, toda la operación
I hope this channel grows, I'm the 44th subscriber What's your next video? Haven't seen many channels cover WW2 Convoy vs U Boats, maybe that can be the hook to get more viewers.
Will work soon on this topic.
Next: Channel Dash
My uncle was on ml262 and received the dsm
12:40 changing the naval ensign... Surprise Gerry!
Yikes the narrator definitely didn’t write the script
I believe the Japanese battleship Yamato was bigger than the Tirpitz.
Britain was receiving help from Canada way before the USA.
i feel like the sinking of HMS Hood was just glossed over without much regard for the detail it was a lucky shot by the bismark. plain and simple
No, it was an uneven match up. The pride of WW1 against the pride of WW2. It was most likely bound go happen anyway. Firering rounds from moving ships against moving ships is no exact science, a little luck..good fortune to those who win the shoot out...is inevidable
@@emma12345678961 Hood was given a major refit from 1 May 1929 to 10 March 1931
@@Cubs3344 Still had thin decks.
@@sandydennylives1392 Then it's lucky that she wasn't hit in her deck armour. The shot that killed Hood would have killed any other Battleship. The thing literally nearly defied physics itself as it slipped under the belt armour (helped by the wake of the ship from it turning at full speed) and slammed into the Hood, before starting a fire that spread to the main magazine.
@@youraveragescotsman7119 Possibly, you'd need real kick arse depth to your steel plate, which Hood didn't have.
Question did the commandos who attacked St. Nazaire, paint their web gear white to identify themselves??
@@TheWarline Really? I was lead to believe that they did this so they don’t get shot at by their own forces.
In June 1940 the USSR was not fighting alone in the East. The Murmansk convoys were not happening. If you recall, the USSR was not attacked until a year later.
Max was here
I can never figure out how many comandoes who landed got off again after the job was done
Those 228 british that returned literally bumped into death itself, then kept walking around The rest werent lucky, sadly.
medal of honor european assault mission 1
I played that game and I ace it
Why was it "fortunate" that the enemy U-boat escaped? It would be fortunate from the German's point of view but this video is about Operation Chariot...a very BRITISH military operation. One that the United Kingdom should be very proud of.
Bismark was scuttled by her crew and not sunk by the Royal Navy. They tried but could not sink her.
Out of 622, 228+169+215=612...What happened to the other 10 men?
Yes it will. just be persistent and collaborate with history march(edit) a small contribution of subscription
Ah Yus Medal Of Honor European Assault memories
I did this in sniper elite 5 by my self
I don't believe the tirpitz was the largest battleship, the Japanese had two that were bigger.
@@dr1fty455 the Musashi and the tirpitz were both sunk in 1944 and the Yamato in 1945.
@@dr1fty455 the Bismark and the tirpitz were in the 50 000 ton range and the Musashi and the Yamato were in the 70 000 ton range.
Those U-Boats were killing American merchant marines (who were civilians) but Brits criticize America for not entering the war sooner. About two thousand Americans were killed in 1940 and 1941 supplying Britian, and everyone of them died horrific deaths. No memorials to those men anywhere in Britain.
How could the nazis not realizing that the ship is full of explosifs ?
POV: U buy BazBattles of wish
soviet Union ? in 1942 ?
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was established in 1922 after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
It’s not a war crime to fly the enemy flag if the allies do it.
What? The USA and britain was supplying Russia in 1940? The Barbarossa only started at 1941...
British empire history world video
Enjoyed a presentation but the stupid or lazy ‘sank countless ships’ remarks They were very much counted. Surely you could have found the number of ships and tonnage
Yes, and a surprisingly high percentage of Atlantic Convoys managed to get through without contact with the enemy. The fear was that, unchecked, the Kreigsmarine and U-boats in particular would develop more effective tactics to change that, which is why anti-submarine tactics also developed.
Why have you uploaded it so slow? Play at 1.25x 😂
It was first experience uploaded on this channel.
such a british thing to raise your flag back up whilst under fire lmao gotta love em brits
Why are you saying she to a ship? Even though its a male name.
Does the narrator deliberately miss pronounce words on purpose. Air roid ?
@00:35 “medicines” ??! very slecht english !!
All I see is Britain once again overreacting to the existence of Tirpitz, a useless ship whenever the British weren’t diverting their attention from elsewhere to deal with this paper tiger.
@@sjb3460 The aircraft carrier had ALREADY superseded the battleship by the tail end of the 1930s, because it had one huge advantage that, combined with its mobility, more than made up for all of its disadvantages: range. Even end-1930s naval aircraft like the Swordfish (and, for the Japanese, the much more advanced Kate) allowed carriers to strike across distances so great that battleships would have a hard time even finding the carriers as long as the carriers didn’t try to get closer for no reason. People just hadn’t realized it yet.
@@sjb3460 That doesn’t mean the aircraft carrier hadn’t rendered battleships obsolete. That just means that it had rendered battleships obsolete and people failed to realize it.
@@sjb3460you do know that the Japanese both studied and copied the British attack on Taranto when they attacked Pearl Harbour.
@@sjb3460 no they didn't, he predicted a surprise attack from Japanese islands, although he got much right it was nothing to do with a carrier attack. They actually copied the plan from a 1926 British naval document and adapted it when they saw the British success in the battle of Taranto.
Once again? This is a retelling of the story, not an incidence of it happening again! Tirpitz was a classic example of a Fleet in Being: a threat that couldn't be ignored, but that could be countered by deploying superior numbers to react against her if she did sortie. The RN had sufficient assets to do this, with the result that Tirpitz never did sortie, and was ultimately destroyed by bombing raids. The terrain surrounding her anchorage, plus deployment of torpedo betting, precluded a conventional carrier based torpedo/dive bomber attack, but she was eventually destroyed by high-level precision bombing by 617 squadron RAF.
The British only fight on sea because they're scared of having to fight anyone directly (like men); no wonder the modern-day British default war strategy consists of hiding their island, keeping a strong navy to prevent anyone from landing there to avoid a real combat and, the most important part, BEG the United States (Britain's historic boyfriend), to please come save them. That's why they've made so much of the battle of Trafalgar when, in real-life, it had a little practical immediate effect and Napoleon barely sighed when receiving the news. But the British keep celebrating that victory because fighting on sea is all they can do, whenever they fight at land they get their sorry asses kicked even against "inferior" enemies such as Elphinstone's army in Afghanistan, Isandlwana, the American revolutionary war, Dunkirk, the Jews at Palestine, the Dutch at Medway (after which the British lost their fleet which meant their island was open to invasion after which they panicked and surrendered ending the war rather than fighting like men), Buenos Aires (twice), Majuba (against the Boers, where a bunch of Boer farmers and boys defeated professional British soldiers killing 285 British and capturing 59 while losing only 1 Boer and ending the Boer War in one stroke) and Singapore, among many many others; and the only victories they've had have been by surprise attacks (such as the batte of the River Plate), ambushes (just like they did at the battle of Jutland or Cape Matapan) or by using overwhelming numbers (like they did with the Bismark: in the first encounter two German ships, including the Bismarck, fought against three British ships which included the most powerful British ship, the HMS Prince of Wales, known as "the pride of the Royal Navy", the Bismarck alone defeated the three British ships and easily destroyed the HMS Prince of Wales, after which the British fled and only came back in overwhelming numbers, sending 12 ships against the Bismarck; this situation also happened in the naval battles of Narvik in World War II when the Royal Navy attacked the German warships off Narvik, when the Germans counterattacked the British quickly fled losing almost half of its ships, but the Royal Navy would only come back with overwhelming numbers: twice as many ships the Germans had, then and only then would they "avenge" their defeat at Narvik), that0s why the British can could never fight on equal numbers, they're only brave at sea and only with overwhelming numbers on their side. That's why in Corunna they used their favorite tactic: be defeated and escape by sea (the same one used in Dunkirk). Also, they have no problem whatsoever betraying their allies if it furthers its interests such as when they bombarded Copenhagen even though Denmark was not at war with Britain (they did this to destroy the Danish fleet so Napoleon couldn't use it just in case Napoleon conquered Denmark, or when the French surrendered in World War II and the British demanded the French hand over all of their ships to them (they were terrifyied that that Hitler could use them to invade Britain) and when the French refused the British immediatly forgot about their ertswhile "allies" and attacked the French fleet by surprise at Mers-el Kebir or when they betrayed the Portuguese (their oldest allies with whom they'd maintained an alliance treaty since 1386) by sending them an ultimatum in 1890 demanding them to evacuate some of their African colonies and once they did they quickly moved to occupy those areas just so the Britsh could have a continuous land connection between South Africa and Egypt or during the Seven Years War: the British always seek a powerful ally with a powerful land army (as the British are too cowardly to fight like men) to protect them and fight for them and the United States didn't exist yet so they tricked Prussia into joining them and paid the Prussians to fight on the continent in their place but as soon as the British attained their goals in the other theaters of the war they immediatly forgot about their Prussian "allies" and suddenly stopped the cash flow to Prussia and abandoned them just at the height of the war, leaving the Prussians to their own devices to fight alone against France, Austria and Russia, almost resulting in the destruction of Prussia, something every country in Europe took note of; or in Norway during World War II where the British arrived to assist the Norwegians against the Germans but fled after several humilliating defeats by numerically inferior German forces, in this case the British fled in secret leaving their Norwegian "allies" behind and without telling them they were going to flee. During the Napoleonic Wars, the British were at their worst, paying others to fight for them, causing the Emperor of Austria to say "The English are flesh traffickers, they fight others to fight in their place", while Napoleon said the British were "a people of cowardly marine merchants". Here's a tiny selection of the countless British defeats: Afghans 6-13 January 1842 - retreat from Kabul - entire British army captured or killed (17,000 KIA) 3 September 1879 - Kabul ...again 27 July 1880 - Maiwand - 900-1,000 British/Indian troops killed By Mahdist March 13, 1884 - January 26, 1885 Siege of Khartoum - 7,000 force lost to Mahdis February 4, 1884 First Battle of El Teb Chinese 4 September 1839 Battle of Kowloon - defensive victory June 24-26, 1859 Second Battle of Taku Forts Russians Petropavlovsk - British landing repelled Battle of the Great Redan - British failure while the French do succeed in taking the Malakoff Balaclava - British lancers and hussars of the light brigade annihilated. Taganrog - failure of the Anglo-French contingent to take Taganrog Siege of Kars - Anglo Turkish force fails to take Kars Zulus Isandlwanna - an entire column wiped out. 1,400 killed Intombe - supply convoy wiped out. 104 dead Hlobane - No. 4 column wiped out. 225 killed Bulgarians Battle of Kosturino 1915 Battle of Doiran 1916 Battle of Doiran 1917 Battle of Doiran 1918 Boers (In this battles the Boers who crushed the British and won the war were just farmers and teenage Boer boys against professional British soldiers) Schuinshoogte - 69 British killed against 8 Boer killed Laing's Nek - 84 British killed and 2 captured against 14 Boer killed Majuba Hill - 92 British killed (including the commander, a general) and 59 captured against 1 Boer killed Argentinians 2 April 1982 - Invasion of the Falklands - 100+ Marines and sailors captured 3 April 1982 - Argentinians seize Leith Harbor. 22 Royal Marine POWs 10 May 1982 - sinking of the HMS Sheffield 22 May 1982 - sinking of the HMS Ardent 23 May 1982 - Battle of Seal Cove 24 May 1982 - sinking of the HMS Antelope 25 May 1982 - SS Atlantic Conveyor sunk by Argentinians 25 May 1982 - HMS Coventry is sunk by Arg. aircraft. 29 May 1982 - Mount Kent Battle - 5 SAS dead in friendly fire incident. 6-7 June 1982 - British paratroops vacate position under pressure, leaving radio codes 8 June 1982 - Bluff Cove Air Attacks 10 June 1982 - Skirmish at Many Branch Point - capture of the SAS contingent. Ghurka victories January 1814 - Battle of Makwanpur Gadhi - British army kept at bay January 1814 - Battle of Jitgadh - British attack repulsed with 300 KIA Spring 1814 - Battle of Hariharpur Gadhi - British Indian army stymied. November 1814 - Battle of Nalapani - British force decimated with 700+ casualties December, 1814 - Battle of Jaithak - 53rd Div. defeated and repelled. Dutch 16 August 1652 - Battle of Plymouth - De Ruyter's triumph 30 November 1652 - Battle of Dungeness - Dutch gain control of the English Channel 4 March 1653 - Battle of Leghorn - 5 ships captured or sunk 2 August 1665 - Battle of Vågen 1-4 June 1666 - Four Days' Battle - 10 ships lost with upwards of 4,500 killed and wounded 2-5 September 1666 - Burning of London 9-14 June 1667 - Raid on Medway - Dutch raid, ends with loss of 13 English ships 28 May 1672 - Battle of Solebay 7 -14 June 1673 - Battle of Schooneveld August 21, 1673 - Battle of Texel Others - by the Albanians (the 78th Regiment of Foot at Rosetta), - by the Americans (at Cowpens, in 1813 at Thames, and in 1815 at New Orleans), - by the Poles (in 1810 at Fuengirola), - by the native Indians (at Monongahela), - by the Egyptians (1807 at El-Hamad or Hamaad) - by Native Americans at the first Roanoake Island Colony where they defeated the English colonists who had then had to be rescued by Francis Drake, fleeing by sea (the usual British tactic of fleeing by sea) Among many, many, others.
This odd fixation you seem to have about fighting 'like men' is rather disquieting. I expect your partner would be equally alarmed were he to read it.
Rent. Free.
@@youraveragescotsman7119 humorous response mate.
get a life
This has Hispanic jealousy written all over it😂 🇬🇧
The Iowa class were were heavier at 45,000 long tons
No she was "(Not)" the biggest ship in the world....GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
I utterly disagree with calling Bismarck a "monstrosity." She was a beautiful ship. It is regrettable that she had to be destroyed. It would have been much better if she had been taken as a prize. Unfortunately, following the loss of the Hood, which was caused by a shell finding a chink in her deck armor, emotions were running very high and there was no way the British would stop until she was at the bottom of the Atlantic. Moreover, the unnecessary loss of hundreds of German sailors was lamentable. This was caused by faulty information that necessitated the fleet from staying in the area. They had been informed that U-Boats were in the area and they could not afford to stay performing Search & Rescue.
Bismark and Tirpitz were German warships and therefore referred to as he.