CANNON FROM HMS CAMPBELTOWN

On March 28, 1942, at half past one in the morning, the British destroyer HMS Campbeltown, which had undergone some modifications to make her resemble a German warship, appeared in the heart of the harbour of Saint-Nazaire, stronghold of the German Kriegsmarine. Filled to the brim with delayed-action explosives, the ship was rammed into the gates of the huge “Joubert lock”, also known as the Normandie dock, a target which had been chosen very carefully.

The Normandie dock was the only dry...