[Aktungbby]

HMS Campbeltown in dry dock, at St Nazaire March 28 1942...just prior to 'high noon' when she blew up.The charges in Campbeltown exploded at noon, an hour and a half later than the British had expected (Operation Chariot). Although the ship had been searched by the Germans, the explosives had not been detected. The explosion killed around 250 German soldiers and French civilians, and demolished both the front half of the destroyer and the 160 short tons (150 t) caisson of the drydock, with the rush of water into the drydock washing the remains of the ship into it. The St. Nazaire drydock was rendered unusable for the rest of the war, it was the only German-held drydock on the European coast of the Atlantic that was large enough to service the battleship. If this drydock could be put out of action, any offensive sortie by Tirpitz into the Atlantic would be much more dangerous for the Kriegsmarine to carry out, making it less likely that they would risk deploying her. The lock was not repaired until 1947. Note: those in the fotos did not survive