The Battle of Pierres Noires was a naval action that occurred during the Allied Operation Dredger, involving several

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

(RCN) destroyers and a German '' Kriegsmarine''

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

with escorts near

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The RCN force managed to sink or damage some of the escorts on the surface, but the U-boat was able to escape.

Background

The port of

had been an important German

base since the Fall of France, and its capture was one of the objectives of Operation Overlord. With the increasing effectiveness of the Allied anti-submarine campaign however it often became essential for any U-boat departing the port to have surface escorts. The German '' Kriegsmarine'' would often employ

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built ...

s ''(

Vorpostenboot ''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked w ...

)'' to accomplish that task, and over time these boats developed a reputation among the Allied navies. On 5 July 1944 Escort Group 12 and Escort Group 14 were deployed to the vicinity of Brest as part of Operation Dredger; EG 12 (Consisting of the RCN River-class destroyers , , and ) was to intercept the U-boats and their escorts close inshore, while EG 14 would patrol further offshore to intercept any that managed to escape.

Battle

departed Brest on 5 July 1944 under the protection of 4 ''Vorpostenboot'' escort trawlers. Escort Group 12, with HMCS ''Qu'Appelle'' as leader, detected the German force on

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

and set off in pursuit at 30 knots.
Milner p. 146 The two sides engaged in the vicinity of the Pierres Noires lighthouse in the late evening. The darkness, combined with uncertainty of the size of the German force and the close range at which the ships engaged each other nullified some of the advantage in speed and armament enjoyed by EG 12, and ''U-741'' managed to escape. However, despite inflicting some damage to all of the Canadian vessels, the ''Vorpostenboot'' '' V-715'' was sunk, another was heavily damaged, and the remainder withdrew to Brest. EG 12 withdrew to

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for repairs.

Aftermath

Operation Dredger would continue with further Allied naval infiltration into the Bay of Biscay, engaging the U-boats and their escorts in their home waters. ''U-741'' was sunk in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

on 15 August, a few days after American forces began to lay

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

to Brest. The last U-boat departed on 4 September, just before the Americans took control of the city on 19 September . HMCS ''Skeena'' would be lost in a storm off

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on 25 October, the only ship from EG 12 not to survive the war.

Notes

References

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External links