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The Texel Disaster took place off the Dutch coast on the night of 31 August 1940 and involved the sinking of two
/ref> The flotilla was joined by part of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla consisting of , and . 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..
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... 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. 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. ''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. Several life rafts, carrying shipwrecked sailors, drifted into the Dutch coast where those on board were detained by the German authorities as Naval history entry on Jupiter
/ref> On the way, ''Galatea'' hit a further mine and was slightly damaged.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
destroyers, and damage to a third and a light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
. The disaster was caused by a destroyer flotilla
A flotilla (from Spanish language, Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (Naval fleet, fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a Tactical formation, formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet.
Composition
A flotilla is usually ...
running into an unmarked minefield
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
, 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
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
.
The disaster
On the night of 31 August 1940, the British 20th Destroyer Flotilla – consisting of , , , and – sailed from Immingham to the Dutch coast northwest ofTexel
Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of ...
to lay mines.U-Boat reference site entry on Ivanhoe/ref> The flotilla was joined by part of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla consisting of , and . 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..
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... 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. 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. ''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. 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
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
.
1 September brought ''Kelvin'' and ''Jupiter'' from the 5th flotilla to help rescue the shipwrecked crews and later two light cruisers – and – arrived as an escort. ''Ivanhoe'' was scuttled by fire from ''Kelvin'' and the ships returned to port. ''Jupiter'' towed
Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. Th ...
the hulk of ''Express'' until tugs could be sent out to take over./ref> On the way, ''Galatea'' hit a further mine and was slightly damaged.
Aftermath
The 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. The German "invasion force" turned out to be a small minelaying unit transferring from Cuxhaven toRotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
. 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.. One theory amongst British civilians and press of the time laid the blame for the disaster with Lord Louis Mountbatten.
Notes
References
* * {{Use dmy dates, date=July 2014 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