119 2017 03 BRITAIN AT WAR MAGAZINE.pdf

(48984 KB) Pobierz
N
O
S ID!
017
2
K
O A
ril
O E R
7 Ap
B R
s is
I
e
E D Z A
entri
N A
for
G
e
S I T N
dat
S
losing
W
C
IN
ST NAZAIRE:
THE GREATEST RAID OF ALL
R
TOM DURRANT
Bravery at St Nazaire
DECISIVE DEFEAT
The Sinking of
HMS Prince
of Wales and
HMS Repulse
BRITAIN’S BEST SELLING MILITARY HISTORY MONTHLY
VC COMMANDO
VC Fo
un
Cold W
d In Tham
Croyd
ar Canbe
es
on Ra
rras
New R
id Analysi
s
egu
Featu
re: Co lar
llectin
g
Militar
ia
PLUS
:
T.E. LAWRENCE
BULLET MYSTERY
Investigating A Bullet Said to
Have Been Fired by Lawrence
GALLIPOLI MYTH
DEBUNKED
Were ANZAC Landings
Swept to Wrong Beach?
www.britainatwar.com
MARCH 2017
ISSUE 119
UK
£4.60
From the
Editor...
W
ITH MANY
elements of the war otherwise going very badly for Britain and her Empire during the early days of 1942, the
favourable outcome of the commando raid on St Nazaire, and the successful ramming of HMS
Campbletown
into the gates of
the dry dock there, gave a considerable boost to morale at a low point of the war. Churchill, of course, had suffered the high
point of America’s entry into the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor and, almost immediately, the low point of the sinking of HMS
Repulse
and HMS
Prince of Wales
as well as the effective loss of the Empire through Japanese aggression in the Far East.
Given the success of Operation Chariot at St Nazaire, and against the background of all else that was then going on in the war, there
is little wonder that the operation became known as ‘The greatest raid of all.’ It was certainly a most appropriate sobriquet. Not only
that, but the raid also resulted in 89 decorations for gallantry, including five VCs awarded to Lt Cdr Beattie, Lt Col Newman and Cdr
Ryder, with posthumous awards to Sergeant Durrant (featured in this issue) and Able Seaman Savage. Four DSOs were awarded to Major
William Copland, Captain Donald Roy, Lt T Boyd and Lt T D L Platt. Other decorations awarded were four CGMs, five DCMs, 17 DSCs,
11 MCs, 24 DSMs and 15 MMs. Four men were awarded the Croix de Guerre by France and another 51 were Mentioned in Despatches.
Heroes all, we salute the ‘Charioteers’ and pay tribute, too, to the often overlooked air-element of this remarkable raid.
Andy Saunders
(Editor)
EDITORIAL
Editor:
Andy Saunders
Assistant Editor:
John Ash
Editorial Correspondents:
Geoff Simpson, Alex Bowers, Rob Pritchard
Group Editor:
Nigel Price
EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES
Britain at War Magazine, PO Box 380, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 9JA
Tel:
+44 (0)1424 752648 or
email:
contact@britainatwar.com.
‘Britain at War’
Magazine is published on the last Thursday of
the preceeding month by Key Publishing Ltd. ISSN 1753-3090
Printed by Warner’s (Midland) plc.
Distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd. (www.seymour.co.uk)
All newsagents are able to obtain copies of
‘Britain at War’
from
their regional wholesaler. If you experience difficulties in obtaining a
copy please call Seymour on +44 (0)20 7429 4000.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part and in
any form whatsoever, is strictly prohibited without the prior,
written permission of the Editor. Whilst every care is taken
with the material submitted to
‘Britain at War’
Magazine, no
responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage. Opinions
expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of
the Editor or Key Publishing Ltd.
Whilst every effort had been made to contact all copyright holders,
the sources of some pictures that may be used are varied and, in
many cases, obscure. The publishers will be glad to make good in
future editions any error or omissions brought to their attention.
The publication of any quotes or illustrations on which clearance
has not been given is unintentional.
We are unable to guarantee the bonafides of any of our advertisers.
Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions
before parting with any information or item of value, including,
but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal
information in response to any advertisements within this publication.
The average sale for the period Jan-Dec 2015
was 10,843, print and digital copies monthly.
Assistant Editor
John Ash
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES
For all aspects of advertising in
‘Britain at War’
Magazine
please contact Alison Sanders, Advertisement Sales Manager
Tel:
+44 (0)1780 755131 or
email:
alison.sanders@keypublishing.com
DESIGN
Art Editor:
Matt Fuller
COMMERCIAL
Executive Chairman:
Richard Cox
Managing Director/Publisher:
Adrian Cox
Commercial Director:
Ann Saundry
Advertisement
Sales Manager
Alison Sanders
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
For general enquiries and advertising queries please contact the main office at:
Britain at War Magazine, Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ
Tel:
+44 (0)1780 755131 or
Fax:
+44 (0)1780 757261
PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
Production Manager:
Janet Watkins
Group Marketing Manager:
Martin Steele
SUBSCRIPTIONS, BINDERS AND BACK ISSUES
Britain at War,
Key Publishing, PO Box 300, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1NA
Email:
orders@keypublishing.com
Readers in USA can place subscriptions by visiting
www.britainatwar.com
or by calling
toll free 800 428 3003 or fax 757 428 6253 or by writing to Britain at War, 3330 Pacific
Ave, Ste 500, Virginia Beach, VA23451-9828.
Art Editor
Matt Fuller
@britainatwar
SUBSCRIPTIONS, BINDERS AND BACK ISSUES HOTLINE
+44 (0)1780 480404 or order online at www.britainatwar.com
https://www.facebook.com/britainatwarmag
www.britainatwar.com
© Key Publishing Ltd. 2017
FEATURES
22 Decisive Defeat Under the Rising Sun
In our cover story, Professor Eric Grove analyses the battle which
saw the sinking of HMS
Prince of Wales
and HMS
Repulse
as the
British Empire began to fall to the seemingly unstoppable might of
the Empire of The Rising Sun.
Simon Parry and Mark Postlethwaite examine a famous Battle of
Britain episode, asking who shot down Hptm Walter Rubensdöffer
as he led his elite group of aviators when they attacked
Croydon Aerodrome in mistake for nearby RAF Kenley.
44 Superhuman Bravery
Steve Snelling highlights a tale of extreme valour as an
experienced commando battles to defy the odds in the
‘Greatest Raid of All’ at St Nazaire, seventy-five years ago this
month.
36 The Croydon Raid
56 Reputations- General Sir Richard
O’Connor; Part 2
In the second and final part of this Reputations feature, John
Ash continues his analysis of General O’Connor, exploring
why Britain’s premier corps commander could not replicate in
Normandy his earlier outstanding desert escapades.
Contents
ISSUE 119
MARCH 2017
22
Decisive Defeat Under the Rising Sun
4
www.britainatwar.com
36
The Croydon Raid
78 Winged Chariot
Editor’s Choice
In the second of our features on the St Nazaire raid, Peter Lush
details the RAF contribution to the ambitious raid and explains
why what is sometimes seen as the service’s perceived failure
should actually be seen as a great success.
John Howell puts forward his case to debunk what he calls the
infamous ‘Gallipoli current myth’ and sets out his views as to what
really happened during the bloody landings at Anzac Cove.
96 “No Currents to Trouble Him”
WIN!
to
Enter our competition
win one of five author
signed books!
See page 84
for more details.
68 Lawrence of Arabia’s Bullet
Mark Khan analyses three landmark battlefield archaeological
finds, including the supposed discovery of a bullet fired by
Lawrence of Arabia, and shows how the conclusions originally
asserted are not all they seem.
REGULARS
6 News
News, restorations, discoveries and events from around the World.
32 Image of War
In the first of two Images of War this month, a rare moment of
celebration after British soldiers capture a German trench during
the Second Battle of the Somme.
Your letters, input and feedback.
34 Fieldpost
86 Great War Gallantry
Our continuing series looking at some of the awards posted in the
London Gazette, this time from March 1917, as Lord Ashcroft also
presents his ‘Hero of the Month’.
In our second Image of War we present a stunning full-colour
line-up of RAF Canberra nuclear-capable bombers photographed
during the Cold War.
A German withdrawal, Tsarist Russia in chaos, American politicians
gearing for war and the fall of Baghdad; in our look at the key
events of March 1917 we mark a month which changed the
course of the war.
In this the first of our regular monthly new series looking at
collecting militaria-related items, Peter Arnold examines the highly
popular theme of collecting material relating to the epic 1969 war
film ‘Battle of Britain’.
Our editorial team scout out and review some of the latest
military book titles, with a superb volume covering German air
losses over the Irish Republic being voted our Book of the Month.
92 Image of War
94 First World War Diary
102 Militaria Monthly
COVER STORY
107 Recon Report
Battlecruiser HMS
Repulse
downs a
Japanese G4M as she sustains a fatal
torpedo hit off Malaya on 10 December
1941.
Repulse
successfully dodged
up to 19 torpedoes, and her AA suite
accounted for two G4M bombers
downed and 13 G3Ms/G4Ms damaged.
However, her luck ran out, and a
succession of rapid hits caused her to
sink with the loss of 513 of her crew.
(ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW HAY)
110 War Artists
In Phil Jarman’s continuing popular series he focusses this month
on the remarkable war artist Dame Laura Knight and showcases
some stunning examples of her versatile talent.
This month, a commemorative printed tissue paper handkerchief
produced to commemorate the death of Lord Kitchener and the
men on HMS
Hampshire.
Few of these delicate souvenirs survive.
www.britainatwar.com
114 First World War in Object
5
Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin