Marsh Is.#304 Raids on Saint Nazaire - 1992 Imperforate Mint Issue

March 27, 1942 The British launched “Operation Chariot,” a daring commando raid whose objective was to destroy the huge dry dock at St. Nazaire on the French coast, the only facility large enough to berth Hitler’s most powerful battleship, the Tirpitz, the biggest of its kind in the world. The British cleverly disguised an old destroyer and loaded it with tons of high explosives. By the cover of night, the H.M.S. Campbeltown penetrated the harbor defense and rammed the dry dock with its bow, but the Tirpitz failed to explode on impact as planned. Meanwhile 600 commandos stormed ashore from seagoing launches to knock out the giant pump house, shore batteries and searchlights, taking a tremendous loss of life. Miraculously, the Campbeltown exploded the next day, causing devastating damage to the dry dock and killing 200 Germans. Two days later, a second explosion flooded the St. Nazaire basin. The gallant raid had rendered the docks useless for the remainder of the war.

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