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History of the US Torpedo Boats. Part 1. American Civil War
History of the US Torpedo Boats. Part 2. United States Patrol Torpedo Boat 109
History of the Russian Torpedo Boats. Part 1. Russo-Turkish War of 1877
History of the Russian Torpedo Boats. Part 2. Soviet Torpedo Boats in WW2

With the PT-Boats: Knights of the Sea release approaching, we continue to dive into the history of Patrol Torpedo Boats.

After the Treaty of Versailles, most of Germany’s military production was severely curtailed. However, small patrol craft were not. The Schnellboot, or S-boote was approximately twice the size of their American and British counterparts. By comparison with the Allied craft, the S-boote was better suited for the open sea and had a substantially longer range at approximately 700 nautical miles. These vessels were known to the Allies as “E-boats”.

Dunkirk

On 10 May 1940 Hitler’s armies struck westward across Europe. Within three weeks Holland and Belgium had surrendered, and German Panzer divisions had split the British and French armies. The British Expeditionary Force and a substantial number of French troops were trapped in a diminishing pocket of land centered on the port of Dunkirk.

On 16 May 1940 at 18:57, Operation Dynamo began. Over the next nine days, the sea was leaden and calm, unusual for the Channel. The Royal Navy sent an armada ranging from small, open motor launches to destroyers across the Channel to ferry back the Allied troops. The calm sea allowed them to be brought across the sands, and heavy overcast sky’s prevented effective Luftwaffe air attacks.

Most of the “little ships” were private fishing boats and pleasure cruisers, but commercial vessels also contributed. Including a number from as far away as the Isle of Man and Glasgow. Guided by Naval craft across the channel from the Thames Estuary and Dover, these smaller vessels were able to move in much closer to the beaches, and acted as shuttles between the shore and the destroyers, lifting troops who were queuing in the water, some of whom stood shoulder-deep for many hours to board the larger vessels.

Thousands of soldiers were taken in the little ships back to England.

The S-boote were the only offensive naval craft at the disposal of the Kriegsmarine. During the dark of night it was difficult for their lookouts to spot the enemy, and their engines could be heard far and wide, which alerted the destroyer defences. Only at creeping speed and accepting lesser penetration could they approach the irregular armada, and never did they find a rewarding target for their torpedos. Out of nine S-boats dispatched, only three were operational because of engine troubles.

However, according to German command, “The outcome of the operation provided a positive view for what the future held for the S-boat Arm: its performance provided a glowing testimony for the usefulness of the Arm and the outstanding training of its commanders, which opened the door for great naval prospects to succeed at those hot spots and continue naval operations”.

This conclusion makes perfect sense: In the Dunkirk evacuation, the Allied side lost seventy-two vessels, most of them sunk by Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy’s most significant losses in the operation were six destroyers. Two of them were sunk by a torpedo from a Schnellboot. Also, S-Boats severely damaged a third destroyer and sunk three steamers.

Here are the most significant losses:

28 May, British steamer ABUKIR was sunk by S-34 at 01:30.

29 May, destroyer WAKEFUL, with 600 troops on board, was torpedoed and sunk at 01:36 by S-30 close to North Kwinte Buoy.

31 May, between 0000 and 0200, a French destroyer SIROCCO was torpedoed and badly damaged by S-23 and S-26 near West Hinder. Attempting to effect emergency repairs, she was sunk by German bombing. That same day, a French destroyer CYCLONE was torpedoed and badly damaged when her bow was blown off by an S-24 off Dunkirk.

1 June, Antisubmarine trawlers ARGYLLSHIRE and STELLA DORADO were sunk by S-34 near Dunkirk in the North Sea. 

Operation Dynamo ended on 4 June. Using 800 naval craft, including 56 destroyers, the British succeeded in bringing back to England almost 340,000 men, but without their equipment. Churchill referred to the outcome as a “miracle”, and the British press presented the evacuation as a “Disaster Turned To Triumph”.

Below: Schnellboote torpedo boat model from PT-Boats: Knight of the Sea 

PT-Boats Official Site