Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Share #1 Posted April 28, 2013 Hundreds of GIs drowned at sea when their convoy was intercepted by Kreigsmarine E-boats during "Exercise Tiger", a rehearsal for the D-Day landings off Slapton Sands on the Devon coast on April 28, 1944. This came perilously close to compromising the whole D-Day operation...but in the event, thankfully it didn't! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-22280461 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #2 Posted April 28, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZlh_fKGrqw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted April 28, 2013 Share #3 Posted April 28, 2013 Thank you sir for the reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted April 28, 2013 LST 289 was badly damaged by a torpedo strike but, despite the extensive damage and consequent loss of life she was able to limp back to port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted April 28, 2013 This account is from the internet. The highlighted places are actually local to me. "On April 2 the LST-325 arrived in Roseneath, Scotland, and unloaded the gear designated for the Navy base that had been brought from Londonderry, Ireland. The ship left early the next morning and,after sailing through dense fog, joined a southbound convoy for Falmouth, arriving there on April 5. The LST-325 remained in Falmouth until April 15, completing the preparation and painting of the new magazines installed the month before in Ireland, and overhauling the generators and compressors. On April 17 the LST-325, accompanied by the LST-332, the LST-315 and several merchantmen and escorts, arrived in Penarth, Wales, for further work on the main engines. On the 19th a team of 20 US Navy medical personnel and a Navy surgeon reported aboard the LST-325 for temporary duty during the invasion. On the 24th the ship sailed to Swansea, Wales, via Penarth, Wales. After having their first practice drill with the newly added 20mm and 40mm guns, they moored to the hard at the Queen's Dock and began taking aboard Army vehicles of the 336th and 348th Engineers. They returned to Falmouth on the 28th and unloaded their cargo the next day. It was during the early morning hours of the 28th that a group of LSTs taking part in the Operation TIGER training exercise was attacked off the coast of Devon by nine German torpedo boats. Fast and maneuverable, the German boats evaded Allied patrols that night and attacked the LSTs without warning. The LST-507 was torpedoed and the crew abandoned ship; LST-531 was torpedoed and sank within minutes. The LST-289 was able to open fire on the attackers but was also torpedoed, though they were able to get their crippled ship back to port. Casualties from the attack were high; a total of 198 sailors and 551 soldiers were killed or listed as missing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted April 28, 2013 Further reading. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/160289.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted April 28, 2013 Info on the famous "Slapton Sherman"...actually a DD. http://www.peachmountain.com/5star/SlaptonSands_Sherman.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted April 28, 2013 Share #8 Posted April 28, 2013 One local man was killed in Tiger, which i found after researching all of the local losses from the watt.no surprise, his cause of death as of the time of publication of the local history says anything BUT the real cause of his death from the lingering secrecy of the incident. I believe the UK based website that memorializes the men has his name slightly misspelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted April 28, 2013 Share #9 Posted April 28, 2013 Thank you, Ian. This event was so tragic and is unknown to most of the American people. A shame! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #10 Posted April 28, 2013 Thank you, Ian. This event was so tragic and is unknown to most of the American people. A shame! Indeed JS. It was brushed under the proverbial carpet for years after the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #11 Posted April 28, 2013 Slapton Sands was chosen because of its relative similarity to the Normandy beaches, just across The Channel. The residents of the village of Slapton and neighbouring settlements were compulsorily re-located by the War Office because the area was used for live-fire shelling from the seaward side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted April 28, 2013 Monument at Slapton Sands erected by the US Army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #13 Posted April 28, 2013 Detail of the plaque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share #14 Posted April 28, 2013 http://www.shermantank.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted April 28, 2013 Share #15 Posted April 28, 2013 This account is from the internet. The highlighted places are actually local to me. "On April 2 the LST-325 arrived in Roseneath, Scotland, and unloaded the gear designated for the Navy base that had been brought from Londonderry, Ireland. The ship left early the next morning and,after sailing through dense fog, joined a southbound convoy for Falmouth, arriving there on April 5. The LST-325 remained in Falmouth until April 15, completing the preparation and painting of the new magazines installed the month before in Ireland, and overhauling the generators and compressors. On April 17 the LST-325, accompanied by the LST-332, the LST-315 and several merchantmen and escorts, arrived in Penarth, Wales, for further work on the main engines. On the 19th a team of 20 US Navy medical personnel and a Navy surgeon reported aboard the LST-325 for temporary duty during the invasion. On the 24th the ship sailed to Swansea, Wales, via Penarth, Wales. After having their first practice drill with the newly added 20mm and 40mm guns, they moored to the hard at the Queen's Dock and began taking aboard Army vehicles of the 336th and 348th Engineers. They returned to Falmouth on the 28th and unloaded their cargo the next day. It was during the early morning hours of the 28th that a group of LSTs taking part in the Operation TIGER training exercise was attacked off the coast of Devon by nine German torpedo boats. Fast and maneuverable, the German boats evaded Allied patrols that night and attacked the LSTs without warning. The LST-507 was torpedoed and the crew abandoned ship; LST-531 was torpedoed and sank within minutes. The LST-289 was able to open fire on the attackers but was also torpedoed, though they were able to get their crippled ship back to port. Casualties from the attack were high; a total of 198 sailors and 551 soldiers were killed or listed as missing." Ian, since those places are local to you - all you need to do is visit the LST-325 to have the complete experience: http://www.lstmemorial.org/ It was a very tragic event, that could have been much worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share #16 Posted April 29, 2013 Excellent! Thanks for that link Rusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Willaert Posted April 29, 2013 Share #17 Posted April 29, 2013 More research and interesting reading (also specifically about Exercise Tiger) from Richard Bass at http://www.rtbassbooks.com/ http://www.exercise-tiger.com/ : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share #18 Posted April 29, 2013 Thanks for the heads-up Johan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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