H.M.S. Crested Eagle - Bray-Dunes (F)
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Axel-F
N 51° 04.548 E 002° 29.493
31U E 464380 N 5658377
At low tide visible wreck of the Crested Eagle, left behind after Operarion Dynamo at the beginning of in WWII.
Waymark Code: WMPV1P
Location: Hauts-de-France, France
Date Posted: 10/21/2015
Views: 15
When the British left Dunkirk in June 1940 they abandoned a huge amount of material, including many damaged or destroyed ships, now beached on the sand along the coast. Some were repaired and reused by the Germans, and others cut up for scrap, but incredibly the wrecks of several of them are clearly visible on the beach today. Indeed, some can easily be found using Google Earth.
The most impressive wrecks are this vessel Crested Eagle and the Devonia which lie between Zuydcoote and Bray-Dunes. They can be reached on foot from the parking areas close to the seafront apartments at Bray, but can only be seen at low tides. Both were paddle steamers – the Crested Eagle worked the Essex and Kent coast and the Devonia the Bristol Channel.
The Crested Eagle caught fire after coming under German attack, It’s thought that more than 300 soldiers on board perished in the flames. Today both sets of remains and more than a dozen other small ships are largely used as mussel beds.
source: (http://www.historyextra.com/feature/dunkirk-where-history-happened)
General Steam Navigation Co.; 1925; J. Samuel Whithe & Co; 1.100 tons; 299.7x34.6x11.1 ft.; 538 nhp; 18.8 knots; triple expansion diagonal engines.
The well-known Thames paddle-steamer Crested Eagle was taken over by the Admiralty during WWII to be used as a minesweeper. On May 29th 1940, when assisting in the evacuation of the British Army from the Dunkirk beaches, she was bombed by German aircraft.
At the time of the attack, the Crested Eagle was carrying about 600 troops in addition to the crew. She was set on fire and was run ashore, over 300 of those on board being either killed or drowned.
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