70 years ago: A Canadian disaster !

[Capitaine Vengeur 263]

Dieppe Raid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Operation Jubilee was flawed even before it began, but was still carried on, for the pain and glory of Canada. At least, the Allies understood that day that they couldn' invade Northern Europe without bringing their own ports with them. The reconstructed Canadian 2nd Division could see action anew in Normandy two years later. The day was also a bitter failure for the largely outnumbering RAF.

 

From Normandy, tribute to Canada !

[Derk 265]

A major diaster indeed, the victims should be remembered, the culprits named and shamed !!

[B52STRATO 215]

Without forgetting all the men from the UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, US, Poland, Norway, and the handfull of Czechoslovaks and French which flew over the landscape on this August 19, 1942.

[+Jug 99]

I am a (poor) student of WWII history and only knew briefly of the Dieppe raid. Now I know why. How can you piss away over 3,000 fighting men just to test the waters. That was more than the losses of the USN at Pearl Harbor and the Dieppe raid CC got a DSM!! Anything strange here to anyone else??? Who was the idiot who approved the go, Churchill under advisement from Monty. Lots of lip-slapping by non-participants or survivors on the positive achievements of the raid, but, I gotta tell you, the whole thing appears to be an absolute disaster from start to finish. Does tarnish the image a bit! Reminds me of Halsey deserting the landing force in the Phillipines on the other side of the planet when it comes to calling a military disaster "positive".

 

Small wonder that the Canadians offered one more man for the war effort following this monster malfunction.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Jug

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

[Capitaine Vengeur 263]

About the air battle, that day saw the first operational use and first kill for the Mustang (or A-36 Apache at that time), and also the first kills for American ace 'Don' Gentile (within an RAF 'Eagle' squadron). A heavy strike on Abbeville Airfield was also the second operation over Europe for the American B-17.

 

The RAF lost 3 squadron leaders reported missing: A. Berry, DFC (3 Sqn); G.C. Hyde (41 Sqn); and Emile Fayolle, DFC (Free French, 174 Sqn). All of them rest in the Anglo-Canadian Cemetary at Dieppe. It was close that a fourth (acting) squadron leader was lost: yet, 'Johnnie' Johnson escaped by few death from a crack FW-190 pilot, and survived to become the RAF second-highest scoring pilot of WW2.

 

Among the Germans, Ofw Josef Wurmheller (I./JG2) was clearly the highest-scoring pilot of the battle with 7 claims. His Gruppenkommandeur Erich Leie was badly wounded that day.

 

Here's a picture of the ceremony yesterday, attended by David Johnston, Governor General of Canada...

[KeyboardChap 5]

Who was the idiot who approved the go, Churchill under advisement from Monty.

 

Bit unfair to Monty here, as at this point he was busy fighting Rommel out in the desert! I think you mean Mountbatten who was in charge of Combined Operations.

[+Jug 99]

I stand guilty of 20/20 hindsight and off-the-cuff commentary without all of the facts. My heart still rests with the cannon fodder of the day.

[Atreides 144]

[KeyboardChap 5]

I stand guilty of 20/20 hindsight and off-the-cuff commentary without all of the facts. My heart still rests with the cannon fodder of the day.

 

No need for that, their names are very similar afterall. But yes, RIP all the brave people who died that day.