Van Landuy et al/Frontiers in Marine Science

Sunken warship sews 80 years of environmental damage

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

Shortly before 4 p.m. on Feb. 12, 1942, Royal Air Force planes attacked and sank V-1302—a German fishing trawler-turned-patrol boat—in Belgian waters of the North Sea.

The vessel formerly known as the John Mahn out of Hamburg was one of six auxiliary ships from the Kriegsmarine’s 13th flotilla that took up fixed positions during Operation Cerberus, more commonly known as The Channel Dash.

In what amounted to a convoy mission, some 200 vessels set out to escort the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau from Brittany in France through the English Channel to German ports.

READ MORE

More from Front Lines

• Once Canada’s darling, Afghan heart patient now in hiding
• Remember me: Soldier’s remains identified 106 years after battle
• Identify this: NASA launches UFO study

www.canadianletters.com

Life in the trenches

STORY BY SHARON ADAMS

Excerpts from a memoir written by First World War veteran Charles Henry Savage, born in 1892 in Eastman, Que., who served in Messines, Belgium, in 1915-16.

Our first trip in the trenches was a short one for instructional purposes…Although late in October, there had not been a great deal of rain and the front line and communication trenches were in almost perfect condition when compared with those we took over after the rains had begun.

Trenches in this sector were very difficult indeed. The water was so close to the surface that the “trench” really consisted of a built up fortification. To build up a trench of that sort you must have sand in bags, and to get sand into bags requires much labour with a shovel. We only called it sand because it went into sand bags. Actually it was the stickiest of clay in most places.

READ MORE

More from Military Milestones

• Patrol ship dedicated to Black Victoria Cross recipient
• How Aircraftman Karl Gravell earned the George Cross
• Overcoming mines and weather, Allied forces take back Walcheren

Save on insurance and win $1000 from our partner belairdirect. There are 36x $1000 cash prizes!
Enter at belairdirect.com/bonus. For a BONUS entry, call for a quote and mention you’re a RCL member.
1-833-294-2911 (BC, AB, ON, QC) or 1-866-473-9676 (NB, NS, PE). Good luck!

LEARN MORE

Most popular on Legion Magazine

• French developer plans condo complex on Juno Beach
• Danger Close
• A Canadian sniper in Ukraine: Numbers, deaths and homecoming