| 词条 | Texel Disaster |
| 释义 |
The Texel Disaster took place off the Dutch coast on the night of 31 August 1940 and involved the sinking of two Royal Navy destroyers, and damage to a third and a light cruiser. The disaster was caused by a destroyer flotilla running into an unmarked minefield, which caused serious damage to one vessel; two more destroyers were sunk going to the aid of the first, and a light cruiser sent as an escort was slightly damaged by a mine on the return journey. In all, the disaster caused approximately 300 deaths, with a further 100 men injured or taken prisoner of war. The disasterOn the night of 31 August 1940, the British 20th Destroyer Flotilla – consisting of {{HMS|Express|H61|6}}, {{HMS|Esk|H15|2}}, {{HMS|Icarus|D03|2}}, {{HMS|Intrepid|D10|2}} and {{HMS|Ivanhoe|D16|2}} – sailed from Immingham to the Dutch coast northwest of Texel to lay mines.[1] The flotilla was joined by part of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla consisting of {{HMS|Kelvin|F37|6}}, {{HMS|Jupiter|F85|2}} and {{HMS|Vortigern|D37|2}}.[1] While the ships were laying mines, air reconnaissance detected a German naval force moving west from Terschelling towards Britain; fearing an invasion the 20th flotilla was ordered to intercept.[2] {{Campaignbox Atlantic Campaign}}Whilst heading for this German force, the flotilla ran into a newly laid, uncharted minefield and Express was badly damaged, losing most of her bow.[3][4] The explosion caused heavy casualties: ninety of the 175 men on board were killed or wounded, including her captain, J.G. Bickford, who was injured by the explosion.[4] The flotilla commander, Lieutenant-Commander Crouch, moved his ship, Esk, to assist Express but Esk also hit a mine and the vessel swiftly sank, killing all on board, save one man.[4] Ivanhoe then went to transfer the wounded from Express but also hit a mine and was badly damaged, the explosion killing a further 53 men and wounding the majority of the crew.[4] Several life rafts, carrying shipwrecked sailors, drifted into the Dutch coast where those on board were detained by the German authorities as prisoners of war.[4] 1 September brought Kelvin and Jupiter from the 5th flotilla to help rescue the shipwrecked crews and later two light cruisers – {{HMS|Aurora|12|6}} and {{HMS|Galatea|71|2}} – arrived as an escort.[1][5] Ivanhoe was scuttled by fire from Kelvin and the ships returned to port.[1] Jupiter towed the hulk of Express until tugs could be sent out to take over.[6] On the way, Galatea hit a further mine and was slightly damaged.[1] AftermathThe final toll of the disaster was approximately 300 killed, with a further 100 injured or taken prisoner; this was the greatest loss of life suffered by Nore Command since the evacuation of Dunkirk.[4] The German "invasion force" turned out to be a small minelaying unit transferring from Cuxhaven to Rotterdam.[4] The casualties returning from the disaster, some badly burned, contributed to the myth that a German invasion had been repulsed by the use of burning oil floated on the sea.[7] One theory amongst British civilians and press of the time laid the blame for the disaster with Lord Louis Mountbatten.[3] Notes1. ^1 2 3 4 U-Boat reference site entry on Ivanhoe 2. ^{{Harvnb|Hayward|2001|pp=33–34}}. 3. ^1 {{Harvnb|Haining|2004|p=178}}. 4. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 {{Harvnb|Hayward|2001|p=34}}. 5. ^Naval History entry for Kelvin 6. ^Naval history entry on Jupiter 7. ^{{Harvnb|Hayward|2001|p=33}}. References
5 : 1940 in the United Kingdom|1940 in the Netherlands|International maritime incidents|Maritime incidents in August 1940|Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II |
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