The BBC and the myth of the Battle of Britain

[Rumrat]

The Germans got amongst the Yanks pre D Day. It didn't go so well.

Operation Tiger where up to 900 American servicemen lost their lives.
28th April 1944

 

[wet_blobby]

.....And most of those poor sods have been credited with dying on the 6th of June, so kinda makes you wonder

 

[WreckerL]

I think Rocket-Ron's got the wrong idea, if Sealion had gone ahead our MTB's and MGB's wouldn't have been there to take on the E-boats, they'd be too busy trying to defend the troop carriers from the destroyers etc. Operation Tiger was a major cover-up with the details not being released for years after the war was over, it would have been bad for morale if released at the time.

 

[trelawney126]

picture tank slapton sands devon - Google Search
Thought these pictures of the Area would put things into perspective. The picture also has photographs post operation Tiger but i cannot comment on their authenticity

 

[Naval_Gazer]

Coastal Forces craft

...Our MGBs were plywood, with high-octane petrol and machine gun armed. The E-boats were steel, diesel, and cannon armed. Which would be more effective among an invasion convoy is pure speculation.

E-boats, comprising S-boats (Schnellboote) and the lighter-armed R-boats (Räumboote), were of wooden construction too, albeit on metal framing.

Despite their apparent shortcomings, RN Coastal Forces craft (nicknamed "The Mile-a-Minute Navy" in The Little Ships by Gordon Holman) wreaked havoc among German convoys and acquitted themselves surprisingly well against escorting E-boats. Even when outnumbered, they came out on top more often than not although other factors were often involved. Together with all the other warships and armed auxiliaries at the Admiralty's disposal in late 1940, they would have made short but bloody work of the Germans' slow, lightly defended, towed-and-unpowered invasion barges with low freeboard.

More information available on the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust website here:

Achievements of Coastal Forces

Coastal forces made an enormous contribution to WW2 in every theatre of war:

* 900 actions resulting in 400 enemy vessels sunk
* more torpedoes fired than the submarine service with a greater proportion of hits
* vital intelligence gathered for D-Day
* landing and retrieving agents on enemy coastlines
* by 1946 over 2,000 vessels and 30,000 personnel formed Coastal forces
* 3,000 decorations won including 4 Victoria Crosses

After the war, many MTBs, MGBs and MLs were converted into houseboats and became common sights in estuaries, rivers and quiet backwaters up and down the country.

 

[Blackrat]

N_G.

Allow me to offer you my congratulations on yet another informative and interesting thread. It's good to see the sensible side of this site.