The plan, dubbed “Operation Chariot” went ahead on March 28, 1942, albeit with a few modifications. Lancez-vous dans une chasse au trésor dans nos magasins.

It was carried out in March 1942 with the aim of destroying the dry dock at St Nazaire on the Loire estuary, which was capable of taking the German battleship Tirpitz, and then.
Lord Louis Mountbatten had the job of selling the plan to the Ministry of War. Registered in England No.

Bill "Tiger" WATSON, dernier survivant de l'Opération Chariot. They succeeded in destroying the pumping and winding gear for the dock, and HMS Campbeltown, an old destroyer packed with explosives on a delayed fuse, blew it up the next day. The raid, known by those in British military circles as “the greatest raid of all” established the fledgling British Commandos as a key part of the British Armed Forces. Bill “Tiger” Watson had volunteered for the Commandos, a new regiment composed of the brightest and best from across the British Armed Services. Please note: your email address is provided to the journal, which may use this information for marketing purposes. Copyright © 2020 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd     京ICP备15042040号-3, William “Tiger” Watson: started his medical career as a prisoner of war, Government of Jersey General Hospital: Consultant in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (CAMHS), Isle of Wight NHS Trust: Clincial Director for Planned Care, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust: Consultant and Locum Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Claremont Bank Surgery: Partnership vacancy, Women’s, children’s & adolescents’ health. The remaining survivors had no choice but to fight their way out of the port. Nous proposons des articles étonnants pour toutes les occasions, pour votre maison, pour vos enfants, et … If you are unable to import citations, please contact Read another story from us: Sinking the Tirpitz, Sister to the Bismarck and the Heaviest European Battleship Ever. As reflected in other obituaries since his death on 29 December, however, the most dramatic moment of his life came in 1942 at the age of 20, when he participated in what the media dubbed “the greatest raid of them all.” Watson earned the Military Cross for his role in the 1942 attack on the dock at St Nazaire, a facility the Allies feared would allow a large German battleship, the Tirpitz, to attack their Atlantic convoys. USS Orleck: The WW2 Ship Has to Move But Who Wants Her, “Holy Grail” Was Discovered in 2015 with $17 Billion Cargo, USS Nevada Found Off Coast Of Pearl Harbour, German Flagship SMS Scharnhorst Found off Falkland Islands, Hanks and Spielberg ‘Masters of the Air’ to Start Filming, Movie Material: Tommy Prince Was so Effective, Germans Believed he Was an Evil Spirit, The USS Arizona – 5 Facts You May Not Know and 30 Photos, The 12 Top Secret Military Operations in History. After the war, Watson completed his medical training and worked as a doctor in Africa, where he volunteered as a Locum in Biafra and also worked for Oxfam during the famine in Ethiopia. View the profiles of people named Tiger Watson.

A plan was devised whereby the British Commandos, with naval support, would take a ship loaded with explosives and ram the dry dock, then detonate and destroy the 1,500-tonne gate. Two hundred and fifteen men were taken prisoner, including Tiger Watson who by now had indeed been “romantically wounded,” shot in the arm by a German sniper. technical support for your product directly (links go to external sites): Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about The BMJ. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. The Commandos’ ship was to be disguised as a German destroyer and would fly a Nazi flag, but even so it would have to sail past eighty gun emplacements, across sandbanks that reduced the estuary depth in some places to just ten feet, and into a port where five thousand German troops were garrisoned.

If you have a subscription to The BMJ, log in: Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more. Unfortunately, almost all their motor launches had been destroyed. (His nickname, Tiger, derived not from any particular ferocity but from his commanding officer’s view that he had a smile rather like that of comic book character Tiger Tim’s.) He had been training as a doctor, but the war had interrupted his studies. We do not capture any email address. 4 messages • Page 1 sur 1. Please, The subscription details associated with this account need to be updated. At the time the Tirpitz was the biggest warship ever built. TIGER Coatings est une entreprise familiale dirigée par une équipe de direction agissant au niveau international avec 8 sites de production, 3 centres de R&D, ainsi qu’un réseau de filiales dans une cinquantaine de pays. Bill “Tiger” Watson, one of the last surviving commandos of the raid on the Nazi-held French port of St Nazaire in 1942, has died at the age of 97.

There were no ships available for the return trip, so the mission’s planners made do with a dozen wooden-hulled motor launches. The Germans would never think we’d attempt it.”. Please, Bill “Tiger” Watson was awarded the Military Cross. Despite the odds, Bill Watson recalled, “I thought we would get away with it. With a crew of 2,000 sailors, armor a foot thick, and a top speed of 30 knots, it was a serious threat.

The only dry dock on the Atlantic Coast that could handle repairs and maintenance for such a ship was at Saint-Nazaire in France, 3.7 miles inland at the end of a protective estuary that the Germans had fitted out with numerous gun emplacements. Dr. Bill “Tiger” Watson, MC, MBE passed away on December 29, 2018.

The Germans even had the estuary dredged to cope with the size of the Tirpitz.

The Royal Navy could only supply one ship, the Campbeltown, a US Navy destroyer from World War I that the British had acquired as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. He spent the rest of the war in Spangenberg Prisoner of War Camp working as a medic. Bill "Tiger" WATSON, dernier survivant de l'Opération Chariot . Afficher les profils des personnes qui s’appellent Tiger Watson. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. As a second lieutenant in 1 troop, No 2 Commando, Mr Watson was one of a small group who landed successfully at the Old Mole during Operation Chariot, which became known as “the greatest raid of all”. Meanwhile, men from 2 Commando would attempt to destroy the pumping station, winding houses, and the fourteen U-boat bays 400 yards from the dock. Access this article for 1 day for:£30 / $37 / €33 (excludes VAT). With a medical career that began in a prisoner of war camp in the second world war and stretched to aid work in Africa by way of general practice in Shrewsbury, William Watson’s life would have been exotic and interesting enough.

In a 1974 interview, Mountbatten said his reply to that was simply, “It’s the fact that is regarded as impossible, that makes it possible. Signalez dans cette rubrique la disparition des vétérans, résistants ou toutes personnes ayant été impliquées dans la seconde guerre mondiale, connus ou moins connus.

I was very young.” In fact, at the time he was just twenty years old, one of the youngest members of the raiding party. Join Facebook to connect with Tiger Watson and others you may know. We have noticed that there is an issue with your subscription billing details. It was all over by noon when the Campbeltown’s payload finally detonated and put the dry dock out of action for the rest of the war.

Supply lines from the USA were being disrupted and to make matters worse, the German warship Tirpitz was tapped to join the battle, which the Allies were steadily losing.

C'est nous, Flying Tiger Copenhagen !

The dock could not be destroyed by conventional bombing, so more than 600 British military personnel sailed 250 miles to Normandy and up the river Loire to St Nazaire. You can download a PDF version for your personal record. They managed to destroy the pumping house and both winding stations and by 2:30 AM were ready to make their escape. He was one of the last surviving members of the Commando raiding party that took on the seemingly impossible raid on the coastal French city of Saint-Nazaire.

Although the raid was a great success, around a quarter of the participants died, and Watson was one of 215 soldiers and sailors taken prisoner. The Ministry’s opinion was that it was impossible. Two hundred men out of 600 made it home to England, and 168 were killed in action. That I would be wounded romantically, and a beautiful nurse would look after me in hospital.

894646. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. …. Post Numéro: 1 de brehon 01 Jan 2019 - 19:30.

On the night of the raid, the Campbeltown successfully rammed the dock gate and the Commandos scrambled ashore while under constant deadly enemy fire. NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. He was one of the last surviving members of the Commando raiding party that took on the seemingly impossible raid on the coastal French city of Saint-Nazaire. Mr Watson died in a nursing home in Shrewsbury on Saturday, according to his son, Peter, who described his father as “a rather splendid chap”. Back in 1942, the British were being run ragged by German U-boats in the North Atlantic.
Dr. Bill “Tiger” Watson, MC, MBE passed away on December 29, 2018. Bill “Tiger” Watson, one of the last surviving commandos of the raid on the Nazi-held French port of St Nazaire in 1942, has died at the age of 97.