Kent provides Guard of Honour for Channel Dash Memorial parade

Sailors past and present honoured one of the bravests acts in 103 years of naval aviation when a memorial to the heroes of the Channel Dash was dedicated in Dover.

HMS Kent and First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope lead tributes by the present-day Royal Navy.

The monument champions the deeds of sailors and airmen who set out against the odds in February 1942 to prevent the breakthrough of German battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, plus the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, from Brest to the North Sea.

They paid a fearful price for their efforts to stop that breakthrough – known to the British as Operation Fuller, to the Germans as Operation Cerberus and to history as the Channel Dash.

The three German ships were shielded by nearly 300 fighters and bombers, while the British response was poorly co-ordinated – much of the fighter cover promised the six Swordfish of 825 Naval Air Squadron failed to materialise.

Despite that lack of cover, Lt Cdr Eugene Esmonde – a veteran of the attack on the Bismarck nine months earlier – led his sluggish torpedo bombers in to sink the ships.

Although some got torpedoes away, none hit the ships, all the Swordfish were downed and only five of the 18 crew were rescued. Esmonde was not among them; he received a posthumous Victoria Cross.

The deeds of the aircrew received praise from both sides – Admiral Bertram Ramsay, the Commander-in-Chief at Dover, called it “one of the finest exhibitions of self-sacrifice and devotion to duty the war had ever witnessed”; the German breakout commander Otto Ciliax said the Swordfish crews’ bravery surpassed “any other action by either side that day”.

Motor torpedo boats based in Dover and half a dozen Royal Navy destroyers also tried to intercept the German force, but their torpedo salvo missed – and the response from the enemy guns badly damaged HMS Worcester which was set ablaze; 24 men aboard her were killed.

In addition shore batteries of the Royal Artillery and RAF fighters and bombers attempted to stop the Germans’ progress.

A granite memorial to all those Britons involved in Operation Fuller has been erected in Marine Parade Gardens in Dover.

Sailors from Kent provided a Guard of Honour as part of the parade held to mark the unveiling.

The ceremony coincided with a three-day visit by the Portsmouth-based frigate to her affiliated county.

The warship’s gangway opened to the Dover public before and after the event on Saturday where visitors had the opportunity to talk to the crew about their experiences in the Royal Navy.

“I am delighted to be bringing HMS Kent back to her home county,” said Cdr Ben Ripley, HMS Kent’s Commanding Officer prior to the visit.

“My ship’s company are pleased to be able to provide a Guard of Honour for the Channel Dash Memorial, dedicated to the memories of the extraordinarily brave men who flew their Swordfish aircraft to the heart of the enemy with little regard for their own safety.

“By contrast to this very poignant ceremony, on the very same day, I am looking forward to welcoming the people of Kent onboard and hope that as many as possible will come along and find out more about HMS Kent and life in the modern Royal Navy.

“We always receive a great welcome and fantastic hospitality when we visit Kent and I thoroughly look forward to further strengthening our treasured links with the county.”