From the Files of Lt. Cdr. J. E. Koyl
Photo from St. Nazaire to Singapore, Page 185
Beach Organization -
The available labour was not the only factor in unloading the ships but good organization was of even more importance. The Military Landing Officer, the Beach Master and his Naval beach party had their beach very well organized and constructed seven beaching points suitable for LCM's from which led exits connecting with four roadways to the highway about a quarter of a mile inland. Three of these roadways led out and the other was for traffic to the beaches. These exits and roadways were constructed by bulldozers - tractor trucks of very high horse power and low geared, fitted with a kind of snow plough ahead of the engine so that they can push earth and sand away to make a level road. They were also immensely useful for towing or pushing trucks that had stuck or craft that had beached too hard and could not get off under their own power. When the bulldozers had done their work, fine wire netting was laid across sandy and muddy stretches where truck wheels might get bogged down and with these makeshifts, useful roads were constructed amazingly fast. The first LCM's to land at a beach to be used for stores carry bulldozers and wire netting. As can be seen, it is of the utmost importance to construct as many landing points for the craft as there is room on the beach and as many exits as are required to clear the stores unloaded at these landing points. The only mechanical assistance in unloading at the beach was provided by Scammels and DUKWs, some of which were fitted with light cranes.
"Canadians in Combined Ops get their LCM into the water"
"Part of a Flotilla, with crews assembling, prepares for action"
Above two photos from Combined Operations by Londoner C. Marks
"Above two photos from St. Nazaire to Singapore by David J. Lewis"
Craft Maintenance -
For the first eighteen days of the operation, all craft of the 80th and 81st Flotilla were kept in operation all the time. This was a remarkable achievement and the more remarkable when it is considered that the beach conditions, especially in "GEORGE" sector, were not ideal. Although there were few rocks and sandbars offshore, the gradient of "GEORGE" beaches was very shallow, and both sectors had soft sandy beaches so that it was impossible to avoid sucking up sand into the pumping system when the craft were coming on and off the beach. There were also a few rocks which could not be removed by the beach parties and about the twentieth day four craft of the 81st were temporarily put out of action by the severe pounding they received on the beach in the surf. The achievement of the 81st and 80th Flotillas which earned them the praise of their Senior Naval Officer (Landing), as the backbone Flotillas of their sectors, was due in a large measure to the care in handling and efficient maintenance which kept such a large proportion of the craft in operations. Their maintenance parties under Lts. (E) A.M. Wright, and J.R.W. Young, R.C.N.V.R., not only looked after the Canadian craft but also serviced a great many of the craft of the other Flotillas whose maintenance parties were less familiar with the workings of their engines and less resourceful in methods of repair that had to be devised to meet the existing conditions where neither tools nor workshop facilities were available.
The maintenance parties of both Flotillas had landed early in the operation and worked from the beach. During the first few days, craft were run almost continuously and when at all possible any engine repair or maintenance work was carried out in the craft which was run on the good engine. Work on underwater repairs became increasingly important as the strains and bumps of repeated beachings bent shafts, A-brackets and propellers, while the bottom plating of the craft wore thin and began to leak. The bottoms were repaired with cement or tar or welding - anything that could be procured - and the occasional opportunity of using the Royal Engineers' workshops on shore proved invaluable for charging batteries, welding, straightening and bushing parts. Underwater repairs were made very difficult by the lack of any means of slipping craft, but before the end of the operation two temporary ways had been constructed and craft were being slipped.
Coxswains -
The task of the maintenance parties would have been even harder than it was had the coxswains not handled their craft carefully in coming on and off the beach with the least wear and tear. Strandings were a common occurrence in some Flotillas where a constant watch on the craft was not kept, both when unloading and when the craft was on the beach for rest periods. The wise use of beach lines and kedges was also of importance in keeping craft lightly on the beach. *
"It pays to be an officer, I suppose. Ratings worked 48-hour shifts"
The administration of the Flotilla contributed much to efficiency. For the first forty-eight hours every boat worked all the time, but after that two 81st Flotilla boat Officers were at all times afloat and two were resting, working twenty-four hours on and twenty-four off, while for the coxswains and men, a routine of forty-eight hours on and twenty-four off was found necessary. However, many of the personnel chose to remain with the craft all the time and slept when they could on the beaches. The complement of the Flotillas allowed for 50% spares, three men per craft. In contrast to the LCA Flotillas, which did not need their spares, the LCM's made the fullest use of all their men so as to give as much rest and, in the later stages of the operations, recreation as possible. The usual routine throughout the operation was to knock off for the night between 2300 and 0500, when darkness made ferrying slow and dangerous. The beach labour parties could not handle as much as the craft could land, and used the nights to clear the beach of the day's surplus.
Life Ashore -
The conditions for men ashore off duty varied. The 81st Flotilla Officer, Lieutenant Mullins, went ashore on the second day, after a day of ferrying high octane gas through air attacks, and managed to arrange with the Army for the billeting and feeding of his men at a rough camp about three minutes walk from the beach. The 80th did not fare so well and had to fend for themselves. They found, after living and feeding from ship to ship until the 21st of July, a cattle cave near the beach, which provided shelter but was uncomfortable and dirty. Both Flotillas lived mainly from Army "Composite" rations and what meals they could get from merchant ships they were unloading.
"One Canadian helped add Navy Rum to the 80th Flotilla's diet"
"Canadians in Combined Ops were resourceful fellows"
"Above two photos are from St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol. 1"
However, there were compensations. After things settled down, there were frequent opportunities for visiting nearby Sicilian towns, and sampling (to say the least) the local wine, Vino. Leave expeditions were organized to Noto (15 kilometres away) and to Syracuse, where the Canadians patronized the Fascist Armoury which contained all manner of war trophies. The custom of looting or "rabbiting" was much more prevalent among the Italians themselves than among our Service personnel, though different Flotillas had different standards.
The LCM's were kept on the job for longer than had originally been planned. Port demolitions, as the Press has reported, were not very complete but they were very awkward. Bollards had been destroyed and obstructions in the water also hindered ships in coming alongside so that most of the unloading had to be done by LCI(L)s while the ships lay at anchor in the crowded harbour, a perfect air target. Therefore a greater volume of stores had to be taken over the beaches. This proved unexpectedly difficult in the last days of the operation when ships were unloading into LCMs bulky cargoes originally intended for discharge onto the docks of Catania.
Caption: "Method of unloading heavy shells off into LCMs to the Sicilian shore.
There are gromets around the copper rifling band, but were they enough?"
Photo - David J. Lewis, St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol. 1
Canadians in Combined Ops faced 'HOT' action in Sicily
Photo from St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol. 1. D. J. Lewis
Photo from St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol. 1. D. J. Lewis
Please link to Memoirs, Lt. Cdr. J. E. Koyl - Part 2
*Training re 'the wise use of beach lines and kedges' is explained in a few places in similar fashion. One source is The Green Beret: The Story of the Commandos by Hilary St. George Saunders. Another is in the memoirs of a Canadian member of Combined Ops, likely because they trained together in Scotland.
Unattributed Photos by GH
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