80th anniversary of the great raid marked
No 2 Commando at Ayr lead successful operation
The 80th anniversary of the greatest raid of the Second World War - led by a commando unit headquartered at Ayr’s Wellington Square has been marked.
The St Nazaire Raid, or Operation Chariot as it was also known, was a British seaborne attack on the heavily-defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in Germanoccupied France on March 28, 1942.
The aim was to destroy the dry dock, forcing any large German warships in need of repairs, such as the Tirpitz, to return to home waters.
And Operation Chariot was successful due to HMS Campbeltown - packed with tons of high explosives - being rammed into the gates of the dock, rendering it unusable for the remainder of the war. The audacious battle plan was led by No 2 Commando who were headquartered at No 2 Wellington Square in Ayr, which is now No 24 Wellington Square.
Ken Nairn, of Remembering Auld Ayr Facebook page, said: “Its imprtance cannot be underestimated, it kept Tirpitz out of the war. By denying the Nazis a dry dock for this devastating ship, Tirpitz was kept out of the Atlantic. If they couldn’t repair the ship, they couldn’t sail her in the Atlantic.
“This hugely helped the Atlantic convoys supplying Britain. They were safer as a result of the raid.
“The plan was audacious; sail a destroyer filled with explosives up the St Nazaire basin, ram the dry dock and blow it up. The motor launches to be used for escape were made of wood, even though they were fast, they were shot out of the water.HMS Campbeltown did explode, the raid was a success and about 360 German troops were killed.”
The operation has since been dubbed ‘the greatest raid of all’ with five Victoria Crosses awarded to British troops. Of the 611 Royal Navy and Commandos involved, 168 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war. A memorial to the raid is erected in Falmouth’s Prince of Wales Pier, where troops left from.
Its importance cannot be underestimated, it kept Tirpitz out of the war