Battle of La Ciotat August 1944 World Naval Ships Forums Archive

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Battle of La Ciotat August 1944 World Naval Ships Forums Archive

Battle of La Ciotat August 1944

Posts 1 to 16

[B][B]The Battle of La Ciotat was a naval engagement that occurred in August 1944 as part of Operation Dragoon[/B][/B]. Allied forces, engaged at the main landings in Vichy France,[B][B] ordered a small flotilla of American and British warships to make a feint against the port city of La[/B][/B] [B][B]Ciotat with the objective of creating a diversion[/B][/B]. [B][B][B]The Allies hoped to draw German forces away from the main landing zones at Cavalaire-sur-Mer, Saint-Tropez and Saint Raphaël. During the operation, two German warships attacked the Allied flotilla.[/B][/B][/B] Ships Engaged [B][B]ALLIED[/B][/B] USS Endicott DD 2359T 35kts 4 X 5"/38 guns 5 X 21"TT HMS Aphis GBR 645T 14kts 2 X 6"/40 " HMS Scarab " " " " [B][B]GERMAN[/B][/B] UJ6082 DC 728T 18kts 1 X 3.9"/47gun 2 X17.7TT UJ6073 DC 1710T 1 X3.5" [B][B]On 17 August 1944, the Allied command appointed Captain John D. Bulkeley USN to take charge of the operation. Bulkeley proceeded to La Ciotat with a force of one destroyer, USS Endicott, 17 PT boats and the British Insect-class gunboats HMS Scarab and Aphis.[/B][/B] When the Allies arrived off La Ciotat, [B][B]the PT boats and gunboats were sent in ahead of Endicott and sank a German merchant steamer in the harbor.[/B][/B] The warships then bombarded targets in the city until two German ships were spotted. [B][B]They were the former Italian corvette Antilope, renamed UJ6082 (728T) and the former Egyptian armed yacht Nimet Allah UJ6073 (1710T). UJ6082 was armed with one 3.9 in (99 mm) gun and two torpedo tubes, her sister ship UJ6081 had been sunk two days earlier at the Battle of Port Cros. The armed yacht mounted only one gun, but it was an 88 mm (3.46 in) Flak gun, a powerful German-built weapon[/B][/B]. [B][B]The two British gunboats engaged with their 6 in (150 mm) and 12-pound weapons, but the enemy fire was returned so accurately that the British ships were forced to withdraw.[/B][/B] USS Endicott, with only one 5 in (130 mm) gun in operation, opened fire at 06.20 from within 1,500 yd (1,400 m) of the enemy ships. T[B][B][B]he Germans switched fire from the gunboats to Endicott and hit her, wounding one man, the only American casualty.[/B][/B][/B] Although a dud, the shell tore a large hole in Endicott's side. In an engagement that lasted just under an hour, [B][B]the Americans and the Germans dueled at close range and their fire was pretty good but both the corvette (07.17) and auxiliary cruiser (07.09) were sunk.[/B][/B] The Allies then resumed the bombardment of the city. [B][B]When later asked why he engaged two enemy vessels which at the time outgunned his destroyer, Captain Bulkeley replied; "What else could I do? You engage, you fight, you win. That is the reputation of our Navy, then and in the future."[/B][/B] On the same day, American aircraft, just north of La Ciotat, dropped around 300 dummy paratroopers and explosive devices that simulated rifle fire. German casualties are unknown, although Endicott rescued 169 sailors who became prisoners of war.[B][B] John Bulkeley eventually rose to the rank of Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, largely due to his conduct in this action.[/B][/B jainso31

Interesting "small craft" action of the type we almost never hear about - though they can be just as intense and deadly as any big ship battle. I was looking up the ships involved and the Wiki page on the Endicott (DD 495) lists the Italian/German ship as the "Capriola" Uj6083 of the same class as Antilope. Other sources do as well. Which is correct? Here's a picture of Endicott: Followed by an Insect-class river gunboat like Scarab and Aphis:
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Hello Paul thanks for your interest and reply to, hopefully, this small thread Regarding your identity question I can only quote from Vincent O'Hara's book "The German Fleet at War 1939-1945"as follows:-"During this attack the corvette,[B][B] UJ6082 ex Italian Antelope-----" [/B][/B] Seelink [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabbiano_class_corvette[/url] The Aphis (Lt Cdr Douglas Fairbanks Jnr) and Scarab were first on the scene after bombarding the port installations at 05.55.They were outmatched and being low on ammunition and suffering gun,director and electrical malfunctions fled SE under heavy gunfire, pursued by the aggressive corvette.At 06.19 Endicott saw them off the port bow making heavy smoke.Thinking the situation was critical Bulkeley opened fire with his single operable gun-three other mounts had jammed breach blocks due to overheating;at a range of 15000yds After some minutes the Germans were dead ahead,steaming west in line abreast.Endicott put two 5" shells into UJ6073 and she quickly lost way. So much for gunboats Paul; but it has to be said; their task had been to shell the port. Any further questions/comments-fire away. Many thanks for the very good photographs jainso31

Further to the above :- The Germans returned fire with their main armament and m/c guns,shooting being pretty good- one shell hit the destroyer and penetrated a forward compartment,causing minor flooding,but it didn't explode. Bringing other guns into action using leather mallets to open and close the breech blocks Endicott continued to close the enemy.At 3000yds she hit UJ6082 several times and then shifted fire to UJ6073-the gunfire being pretty effective.UJ6073 started to list to port and began to explode at 0648 and her crew abandoned ship and she sank at 0709. .UJ6082 still had plenty of fight left and both ships exchanged torpedo launches at 3200yds and Endicott's ran very close to the German- a few feet both fore and aft.Endicott closed to 1500yds raking UJ6082 with 20mm and 40mm cannon fire scything down gun's crews at their unarmoured gun mounts.The crew abandoned ship at 0717 and UJ6082 finally sank at 0830. PS Was this encounter as easy as it seems???? jainso31

Just larger pictures of Endicott, along with examples of the RN gunboats Aphis and Scarab.
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Why thank you kind sir-the pictures are a real extra for this small thread. Terry did you read in the text that Aphis was commanded by[B][B] Lt.Cdr.Douglas [/B][/B[B][B]]Fairbanks Jnr.USN [/B][/B]??? jainso31

"Was this encounter as easy as it seems????" It doesn't seem easy at all! Seems like it was pretty furious - especially given the amount of work the Endicott's crew had to do with only one fully functional 5-inch gun in the face of German return fire. Doesn't sound like that the German shooting was that good given that they only scored one hit at such close range! Also, it shows how hard it is to hit with torpedoes!

Paul- you echo my thoughts entirely-this was a hard fight by a determined destroyer captain and equally determined German ships-if you remember Bulkeley was asked why he chose to combat the the two Germans (despite his guns being partially disabled-overheated breech blocks) he said "That was the reputation of our Navy,then and in the future" Vince O'Hara's account says that the German fire was "good" and as a renowned historian-that will do for me. Endicott's torpedo shots were only feet away from the target's bow and stern- Quote O'hara-I have no reason to doubt that statement. jainso31

Jim 'Easy" is steaming down the lines of a convoy, sinking each ship as you pass. This was surely a hard fought action: entering sn enemy harbour; firing on shore installations, outmatched gunboats escaping under fire and being chased by an enemy ship : rescued by their destroyer who then had a slugfest with another two enemy ships despite overheated guns. Add to that being hit by a shell which failed to explode !! All in an hour and a half. Sounds like a movie script...... with a movie star as one of the skippers. It don't get much better than that :D What a good effort by Capt. Bulkeley and the USS Endicott. Brian

Brilliant-Old Salt-nail hit squarely on the head.It was no pushover; and even though the gunboats did come back- Bulkeley ordered them away; as their shots were uncomfortably close to the Endicott-they (gunboats) presumably thinking that she (Endicott) was the enemy. A hard fought little action worthy of much praise to both sides. I especially liked the reference "like a movie script" especially as Douglas Fairbanks Jnr was involved. Kia kaha Brian jainso31

I came across your discussion in World Naval Ships Forums and have read your comments with interest. With regard to the Battle of La Ciotat I suggest you refer to a leading authority regarding Royal Navy history - [url]http://naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-23RGB-Scarab.htm#taylor[/url] which contains a first hand account of what happened by Lt. Cdr. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. himself. As he was there I found his account very convincing. The following is an excerpt: SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP Some information shows evidence of controversy and substantial differences. For example the sites: [url]http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=PRdoug[/url] and [url]http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=PRdoug2[/url] - an interview with Douglas Fairbanks in his real-life role as a naval officer in World War II - Lieutenant Commander Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, USNR Commander of the Special Operations Group's Eastern Diversionary Unit (Specialist in Diversion) aboard SCARAB's sister ship HMS APHIS when both she and HMS SCARAB were involved in a battle with two German Corvettes. USS ENDICOTT was called to assist and arrived (as Fairbanks relates) when the action had already more or less been concluded. (The US version tells a different story.) Please refer to the above references and USS ENDICOTT site on Google. There is also a reference to Operation Brassard (Elba) which is very interesting (see above). Further excerpt from interview with Douglas Fairbanks Jr WWII: While you engaged in this diversion, I think you got a surprise of your own, didn’t you? Fairbanks: That’s right. At 5:40 a.m., we were just retiring when one of our air-sea rescue craft, ASRC-21 reported an enemy hull on the horizon, and that she herself was under fire. I sent a PT–boat ahead and rushed to her aid as fast as those gunboats could go – only about 10 knots – while reporting the situation to Admiral Hewitt’s headquarters ship, Catoctin, and radioing Endicott to come to our assistance. At 6:10, we opened fire on the enemy ships which turned out to be two corvettes: Unterseebootjager-6083, which had formerly been the Italian Capriolo, and Kemid Allah, a former Egyptian khedivial yacht that had been purchased by the Germans and converted into a warship with two radar-controlled 88mm guns. Commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Hermann Pollenz, they had just left Toulon and were en route to Marseilles when they ran into us.

A commendable piece of work Rob along with your two excellent links-pity you hadn't been with us at the outset-you are obviously painstaking in your research.Our current threads are Port Cros-the forerunner to La Ciotat and the Trinidad saga.Your views would be welcome on either-thank you for interest and input. jainso31

Jim: Another great thread ... but one thing puzzles me ... what was an American naval officer (Fairbanks) doing in command of one of HM warships? Tim

From Rob Burn's post "Douglas Fairbanks in his real-life role as a naval officer in World War II - [B][B][B]Lieutenant Commander Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, USNR Commander of the Special Operations Group's Eastern Diversionary Unit (Specialist in Diversion) aboard SCARAB's sister ship HMS APHIS"[/B][/B][/B] As you can see Lt/Cdr Fairbanks was[B][B] not in command of HMS Aphis[/B][/B] jainso31

Thanks Jim ... I feel much better now! Tim

[QUOTE] John Bulkeley eventually rose to the rank of Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, largely due to his conduct in this action. [/QUOTE] Jim: Bulkeley's major claim to fame was as CO of PTRon 3 in the Philippines in 1941, for which he received the Medal of Honor. It was he who brought McArthur out aboard his PT 41. He had a long record of valor dating back to his time as a China sailor in the '30s. Bill

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