The raid destroyed the Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire, denying Germany's battleship Tirpitz a vital Atlantic repair facility for six years.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 March 1942
- Total raiders
- 612 men
- Returned to Britain
- 228 men
- Killed
- 169 men
- Prisoners of war
- 215 men
- Victoria Crosses awarded
- 5
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
British planners identified the Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire as the only Atlantic facility large enough to service the German battleship Tirpitz. Destroying it would compel Tirpitz to remain in home waters if damaged, where British naval forces could more readily engage her.
On 28 March 1942, the obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, laden with concealed delayed-action explosives and accompanied by 18 smaller craft, rammed the Normandie dock's south gate. Commandos landed to sabotage machinery and structures, but German fire destroyed nearly all the small craft meant for their extraction, and most commandos were killed or captured fighting through the town.
Campbeltown's explosives detonated later that day, killing over 360 German personnel and putting the dry dock out of service until 1948. Of 612 raiders, only 228 returned to Britain. The operation was recognised with 89 decorations including five Victoria Crosses, and became widely known in British military history as 'the greatest raid of all.'