Battle River Plate, Op Menace Dakar HMS Cumberland Royal Marines Medal Group
£225.00
Sale price
£225.00
Regular price
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Battle River Plate, Op Menace Dakar HMS Cumberland Royal Marines Medal Group
£225.00
Sale price
£225.00
Regular price
Cracking WW2 campaign set. Bill Owens joined the Royal Marines in 1922. Served on Vindictive, Ramillies, Argos and Acilles between the wars. Joined HMS Cumberland in 1936 and was on board for the Battle of the River Plate and the ilfated Dakar operation Menace. June 1941 posted to Signals School and served there until discharge in September 1945.
HMS Cumberland, a County-class heavy cruiser, played a critical role in the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939. Although she was the most powerful unit in Commodore Henry Harwood's Force G, she missed the initial engagement with the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee because she was undergoing a self-refit in the Falkland Islands.
The Sprint North: After receiving a garbled message about the engagement on 13 December, Cumberland immediately set sail from the Falklands. She steamed 1,014 nautical miles in just 34 hours, maintaining an average speed of 29.8 knots. She arrived at the River Plate estuary at 22:00 on 14 December. By this time, the Graf Spee had already sought refuge in the neutral port of Montevideo, Uruguay. Cumberland replaced the severely damaged HMS Exeter, joining the light cruisers HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles in patrolling the estuary. Her arrival helped convince the German commander, Hans Langsdorff, that a superior British force was gathering outside the port. This pressure ultimately led Langsdorff to scuttle the Graf Spee on 17 December.
HMS Cumberland played a significant role in Operation Menace (the Battle of Dakar) in September 1940, an unsuccessful Allied attempt to capture the strategic port of Dakar from Vichy French forces. Actions During Operation Menace - Interception of the Poitiers: On 16 September 1940, while patrolling ahead of the main force, Cumberland intercepted the Vichy French munitions ship Poitiers. To prevent the cargo from falling into British hands, the French crew scuttled the vessel.
Naval Bombardment: On 23 September, the first day of the assault, Cumberland provided naval gunfire support against French shore batteries alongside the battleships HMS Barham and HMS Resolution. During the engagement, Cumberland was struck by a 9.4-inch shell from a French coastal battery. The hit caused a steam pipe fracture and a total loss of electrical power, forcing her to withdraw from the operation early. As a precaution against further damage or fire, her 4-inch magazine was flooded. She returned to Freetown on 29 September after the operation was abandoned.