22 August 1942

22 August 1942 Channel Islands Sea Defence diary

Weather: wind from 270°, 3 metres per second.

10:54: measuring post 6 of Artillery Regiment headquarters for special employment 720 reported a ship on the rocks in Moulin Huet Bay. Rescue boats were made ready. Harbour Commandant’s investigation established that the dredger Suriname had grounded near Moulin Huet at about 11:00. Damaged, it discharged its sand, entered St Peter Port and grounded there. No casualties.

17:10–17:25: Batterie Mirus fired four 7.5-cm illuminating rounds on bearing 340° at fifty-five hectometres. The fuzes failed and the parachutes did not deploy. Naval Artillery Arsenal Cherbourg was asked to investigate.

Construction, Naval Artillery Battalion 604 — Batterie Mirus. Nos. 1 and 2 guns: work on heating and ventilation continued; beds were being fitted in No. 1 crew bunker; otherwise no important changes. No. 3: machinery for traverse and elevation completed, making the gun ready for action under power in both axes; ammunition handling remained manual. No. 4: construction of ammunition and crew bunkers continued. Fire-control post: the new post was occupied and fire was now controlled from it.

Batterie Strassburg: no changes. Batterie Steinbruch: pouring of the surrounding wall and ammunition bunkers at No. 1 completed; preparations for pouring at the other three continued. Two 2-cm guns withdrawn from Strassburg and Mirus were installed for local anti-aircraft defence. The 319th Infantry Division supplied six machine guns, four light and two heavy, for close defence pending arrival of naval weapons.

Naval Artillery Battalion 605 — Batterie West. Fire-control post: excavation and blasting continued. Turret 1: shuttering and reinforcement at the circular platform. Turret 2: reinforcement for the circular-platform base begun. Turret 3: pouring of the working base completed. Turret 4: shuttering and reinforcement at the circular platform; further excavation for the accommodation barrack. Machinery bunker: excavation and blasting continued, as did excavation and blasting for the kitchen and communal rooms.

T-1022 Roll 2422, PG 37996, scan 0491–0492.