27 February 1944

27 February 1944 Channel Islands Sea Defence diary

Weather: wind from 90°, 2 metres per second. At 00:40 minesweeper M 4618, belonging to the Guernsey–Jersey convoy, was attacked by four British vessels. The convoy was then half a nautical mile south-west of Ida 5; M 4618 was three nautical miles west of Ida 5, collecting the tug convoy. The enemy vessels were probably gunboats, attacking M 4618 in pairs to port and starboard. The action lasted about ten minutes, with attacks from north and south. M 4618 immediately returned fire with all weapons. One enemy vessel to port was reported set on fire.

M 4618 received numerous hits from 4-cm and smaller-calibre weapons. One hit was on the waterline; the others above it. Its wireless installation, compasses and degaussing installation were destroyed; most signalling equipment was destroyed. Losses: the commanding officer, one officer cadet and three men killed; four seriously and nine lightly wounded. At 02:30 the boat went alongside Vp 223 in the roadstead off Noirmont Point and entered St Helier at 08:20.

The attack occurred only about three to four nautical miles south-west of Corbière, approximately eleven to twelve kilometres from Jersey naval radar, without that radar detecting the enemy vessels. Had detections been available, coastal artillery could readily have been directed against the gunboats in time and might have prevented the attack, which again caused personnel losses and material damage. It must therefore again be recorded that the naval radar sets employed here fail to detect targets the size of motor torpedo boats or gunboats even at very short ranges. Coastal artillery cannot prevent such attacks even within its own area until the radar sets can be improved to detect smaller targets. [Enemy damage is the diary's claim.]

Roll 2422, scans 0796–0797, original pages 18–19.