Good initiative. "It was an operation movingly described by Winston Churchill as a 'miracle of deliverance'. Between May 27 and June 4, 1940, 338,226 Allied troops were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk by military, merchant and fishing vessels and civilian 'little ships'. Now, British and French researchers are launching a mission to detect and identify the undiscovered wrecks among the 305 vessels lost during Operation Dynamo. Research in 2021-2023 by Claire Destanque, of Aix-Marseille University, revealed new information about the location and condition of the wrecks. The new programme being launched by Drassm - France's Department of Underwater Archaeological Research - in partnership with Historic England, the public body responsible for England's heritage, will search for these undiscovered wrecks. Thirty-seven wrecks linked to Operation Dynamo have already been located in French waters, in particular by divers from Dunkirk and the surrounding area." www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12544493/Vessels-Operation-Dynamo-Dunkirk-1940-searched-identified.html
Back around 1982, when my US Navy ship was visiting Portsmouth, England, we were anchored out. I had had duty the night before and had permission to leave the ship early in the morning. I caught a ride to shore on the little boat that came out to pick up our trash, cute little thing, old but well cared for, with a smoky putt-putt engine - and a brass plaque over the cabin door - Dunkirk 1940.
And the latest news. What amazingly clear pictures. "It has been more than 80 years since the British destroyer HMS Keith sank during an operation described by Winston Churchill as a 'miracle of deliverance'. The 330ft-long vessel was among some 1,000 military, merchant, fishing and civilian 'little ships' that helped rescue 338,226 Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940. It had just returned to the French coast having evacuated 992 soldiers to Dover when it was bombed by a German aircraft and sank to the bottom of the English Channel. Now, almost nine decades on, the World War II warship has been seen again after scientists used sonar to create a 3D model of it lying on the sea bed. It is all thanks to a project involving Historic England and Drassm — France's Department of Underwater Archaeological Research." www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12635111/British-WWII-warship-Keith-seen-time-80-years-Scientists-use-sonar-create-3D-model-destroyer-lying-bottom-Dunkirk-channel.html
