0.6.8 Dunkirk Event Collectibles

The new album comprises 16 new collectibles.

S-26 torpedo boat

Lead in the S-26 - S-29 series, based on which the Kriegsmarine torpedo boats were built up until 1945. German boats were large in size with a low silhouette, a long range of navigation and were designed to strike at superior enemy forces in the dark. Three diesel engines with a total power of 6000 horsepower built up a maximum speed of 39 knots. S-26 was armed with two 533 mm torpedo tubes, a 20 mm Reynmetal C30 automatic gun, and two 7,92 mm MG 34 machine guns.

M18 L/31 210mm howitzer

The largest calibre gun of theWehrmacht field artillery was adopted in 1939 b was produced by the Krupp company untill the end of the war. The mortar sent a high-explosive shell weighing 113 kg to 18.7 km at a speed of 565 m/s, making a shot every two minutes on average. The gun weighted 16,7 tonnes in combat position, while the gun-carriage mounted on the base plates was rotated 360 degrees manually, providing all-around fire. Three-gun M 18 batteries were separate battalions, which were part of the corps and army artillery.

To the west of Dunkirk there were mortars of the 782nd motorized artillery regiment of the XIV army corps, located in the Calais area, and to the east - of the 785th motorized artillery regiment of the XXVI army corps, firing from the Newport area. The fire of the Wehrmacht's heavy guns made it very difficult for the Allied troops to evacuate.

Ju-87 B-2 dive bomber

The most common at the beginning of the war modification of the famous dive bomber, with engine power increased to 1200 horsepower and the ability to carry a bomb weighing of up to a tonne, was produced since December 1939. Despite the small combat range of 600 km and the low maximum speed of 326 km/h, this specialized aircraft of direct troops support in 1940 proved to be a highly effective "air artillery."

Over the Channel, during the evacuation of Allied forces, 87 vehicles of the 2nd and 77th squadrons of the 8th Aviation Corps dive-bombers were in operation. They did up to 12 raids a day on Dunkirk. A total of about 250 transport and warships were sunk, including 6 English and 3 French destroyers. Own losses Ju-87 from fighters and antiaircraft artillery directly over the port amounted to 11 aircraft.

Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I fighter

A two-seated fighter, all of the armament of four 7.7-mm Browning machine guns was installed in the rotating turret of the air gunner behind the pilot cockpit. It was designed according to the pre-war theory - for killing the long-range bombers flying in a close formation and without escort. Defiant wasn't made for dogfightng. The aircraft was to operate together with the classic Hurricane fighters, which it resembled in appearance and characteristics: take-off weight 3900 kg, engine power 1030 horsepower, maximum speed 498 km/h.

Defiant Mk I entered into service in December 1939, 18 aircraft of the 264 Fighter Division operated over Dunkirk. Its pilots managed to shoot down bombers, but they had no chances against Me-109E, and the division lost almost all the planes.

Morris commercial CDSW artillery tractor

The multi-purpose 1.5-tonne truck Morris CDSW belonged to the English army trucks of the first generation. It was produced sunce 1935, had a 6x4 axle configuration, and was equipped with a 3.5-liter engine producing 60 horsepower.

Since the late 1930s, CDSW has gradually been replaced by more modern models. As the artillery tractor, Morris CDSW was used in the British expeditionary forces mainly for the transportation of the field 18-pounder gun and the 40-mm anti-aircraft gun Bofors. Most of the machines were lost in France in the summer of 1940.

40mm automatic antiaircraft gun Bofors QF Mk III

The production of these guns under the Swedish license was done in Great Britain from the middle of 1939, during the war years they became the basis for the close-range air defense of the British land forces. With a weight of about 2.5 tonnes, the QF Mk III had a deliverable rate of fire of 80-90 rounds per minute and an altitude combat range of about 1200 meters. Loading was done with magazines of 4 projectiles.

In Dunkirk, the Bofors automatic anti-aircraft guns of the 51 light air defence regiment were the only defence against the Luftwaffe from May 28, when, due to a misunderstood order, the commander of the 2nd Air Defense Brigade ordered to bring out of operation more than one hundred 94 mm anti-aircraft guns and evacuate personnel. In total in France in 1940, the British lost 101 QF Mk III guns.

Aronia motorboat

The 65-meter steel yacht Aronia was built in Copenhagen in 1929, commissioned by an English billionaire. The luxury of the interiors of the cabins was such as of the first class salonsof the transatlantic liner Normandy. The two diesel engines of the yacht built up a speed of 30 knots.

At the beginning of the war Aronia was mobilized, and she participated in the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. Further in the war years, a high-speed vessel carried out secret voyages to Sweden, delivering a strategic cargo from there - the ball bearings, on which the production of British aircraft engines and tanks depended.

In 1945, the yacht was returned to the owner, and Aronia served for a long time for her intended purpose. In the late 1950's, Winston Churchil was cruising the Mediterranean Sea on it.

John Cattling trawler

In 1916-1919 in England, based on the design of trawlers, more than 500 steam vessels of dual purpose were built. During wartime, they carried patrol, anti-mine and anti-submarine service, and in peacetime, they were disarmed and sold to private owners. At the beginning of the Second World War, the trawlers were mobilizedagain and among them John Cattling, which became a minesweeper: a total displacement of 276 tonnes, a length of 38 meters, a width of 7.2 meters, and a speed of 10 knots.

May 29, 1940, at the breakwater in Dunkirk, the English destroyer Grenade got hit with two bombs. Rudderless and aflame, the ship started to dift towards the exit from the harbour, threatening to block it. John Cattling, under the bombing, managed to tow it to the outer harbour, where the destroyer exploded.

The trawler served as a minesweeper throughout the war, was returned to the owners, and was going to sea until 1957.

Medway Queen steamer

This paddle-wheel steamer was built in 1924 for passenger shipping on the Thames. Medway Queen had a displacement of 134 tonnes, a length of about 55 meters, a width of 7 meters, and could work up a speed of 13 knots. When the war broke out, she was mobilized, and sweeping gear, 76mm AA armament, and two machine guns were installed.

The ship made 7 voyages across the English Channel to Dunkirk, taking soldiers directly from the city beaches. In total, the river ship transported 7000 people to England, her anti-aircraft gunners credibly brought down one German aircraft. Medway Queen received the unofficial nickname "The Heroine of Dunkirk" from the people she carried to safety.

After the war, the steamer returned to regular work, and from 1966, she was used as a floating nightclub. Since 1978, attempts have been made to create a museum from the ship, but only by 2006 the Medway Queen Conservation Society managed to raise enough funds for restoration. It was completed in 2013, and now the "Dunkirk Heroine" is perpetually laid up on the Medway River in Kent.

35ft motorboat

These boats served in the Royal Navy as command vehicles for heavy cruisers and battleships, were used as running boats on the naval bases. s commanders on heavy cruisers and battleships, used as traveling in naval bases. During the Dunkirk, evacuation, on the Thames and along the English coast of the Pas de Calais, all the boats that could reach France were immediately mobilized. These boats, 10.5 m long and with a speed of 20 knots, were of great service, getting soldiers from the unimproved shore to transports.

Wherry

These flat-bottomed sailboats, about 25 meters long and 6 meters wide, delivered various cargo along the Thames and coastal routes along the English coast since 18th century. Barges have become such an integral part of a British national tradition that since the 1860s for over a century, barge sailing races have been held annually. In 1940, among the other boats that were sent to Dunkirk for he evacuation, there were 30 such barges. 18 of them returned.

Watson type rescue ship

Such small ships were ordered by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution from 1824 to the present day. The Watson type ships were biult from 1926 untill 1933, and were in service until 1972. It was a wooden boat about 14 m long and about 4 m wide, with two gasoline engines building up a speed of 7 knots.

1940, such ships from the rescue stations of the southern counties of England were sent to Dunkirk, some with their civilian crews. During the evacuation, they mainly transported soldiers from beaches to large transports that could not approach the shore because of a large draft.

Renault AGC-3 ambulance

A heavy field ambulance based on 1,5 tonne Renault AGC truck, commissioned by the Ministry of the Armed Services of France, started rolling off the production line in the beginning of 1940. The vehcle was equipped with 2,4 litre, 44 horsepower engine and could carry up to five seriously wounded soldiers.

Bedford OYD truck

When the Second World War began, the Bedford company started the production of simplified rear-wheel-drive trucks based on the pre-war series O, specifically for the armed forces. The stretched OY-series cars with the characteristic, easily recognizable design had a payload of 3 tonnes and were equipped with a 3.5-litre 72-horsepower engine.

The most common in the British army was the OYD drop-side truck with a general-purpose body, used to carry various cargo and personnel. The most common in the British army was the OYD drop-side truck with a general-purpose body, used to carry various cargo and personnel. During the war, Bedford OY became one of the most mass British army vehicles. Its production continued until 1945, and the total number of vehicles produced exceeded 70,000.

Peugeot DK5J truck

A small curtain-sided truck Peugeot DK5J was produced on order of the Ministry of the Armed Services of France since 1939. It was based on the Peugeot 402 car machine parts, from which it also borrowed the original design of the cabin. The vehicle had a payload of 1,2 tonne, was equipped with a 2 litre 45 horsepower engine.

Leyland Retriever truck

Leyland Retriever was in the range of standard three-axle cabover trucks of 3-tonne class. It belonged to the first generation army vehicles, the development of which began in 1933 on the instructions of the British Ministry of Defence.