410:. The MTB was equipped with three Packard engines capable of almost 40 knots (74 km/h) and two Ford V8s which were designed for manoeuvring at 6 knots (11 km/h). Too fast with one combination of engines and too slow with the other, the MTB was put onto tow until the convoy reached St. Nazaire. The ships crossed 400 miles (640 km) of open sea and were three miles (5 km) up the Loire estuary before the Germans opened fire.
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directly ahead of him. He had to make a snap decision, either to stop—which could be done quickly—or to drive on, which would have meant that the men would be washed off their float and probably drowned. He later recorded, "it was an awful decision . . . I decided to stop the vessel and we pulled up
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right alongside them. My crew had got hold of them, but unfortunately at that very moment the German shore batteries found their mark and two shells went straight through us." Wynn was blown from the bridge down to the bilges. He was saved by the chief motor mechanic,
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Lovegrove, who decided to search that area before jumping overboard. He held the severely injured Wynn and joined other survivors on a Carley float. When the
Germans found them 12 hours later only three men were left out of 36.
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was being inspected by
Germans, five tonnes of explosive blew up rendering the dock completely useless until after the war. Two days later Wynn's two torpedoes exploded and destroyed the gates of the old entrance. Wynn, now a
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246:. Wearing naval uniform in case he was taken for a spy he searched for but never found the Guards. The Royal Navy recognising his abilities gave him a commission in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in July 1941.
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to the
Submarine Basin. Further tests were carried out prior to the raid on St Nazaire and adjustments made to the delayed-action mechanism of the torpedoes which were fired by
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s weapons'. The MTB entered service in
December 1941. However while this experiment was being trialled, the ships made a daring escape from Brest to the Baltic, nicknamed the "
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commanded by Sub-Lieutenant Micky Wynn, was to be armed with two delayed-action torpedoes to be fired at the dock caisson. Also deployed to the raid were two
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and an MTB, Wynn was ordered to return to
England. He turned his craft and ran his full speed of 40 knots (74 km/h). Wynn spotted two men on a
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was instead re-tasked to the St. Nazaire raid where it was proposed she could torpedo the inner caisson of the
Normandy Dock or a
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in 1998 and his ashes were shot out of an 18th-century cannon. His son succeeded him as the 8th Baron
Newborough.
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Born the eldest son of Sir Robert
Vaughan Wynn, 6th Baron Newborough and Ruby Irene Severne, he was educated at
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harbour where they would sink to the sea-bed and explode after a time delay. The weapons were nicknamed 'Wynn
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cut through the torpedo net and rammed the dock gates at 1.34. Wynn, who had been cast off from
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in 1940. In May 1940, now a civilian, he was given command of a yacht acting as the
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and inherited 20,000 acres (81 km) in North Wales. In 1971 he chose to sell
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On 28 March 1942, Sub-Lieutenant Wynn was to play a decisive part in the raid on
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238:. Wynn then took command of a Norfolk fishing boat and went to beaches south of
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Combined
Operations By Vice Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten Kessinger Publishing
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replaced the German flag and hauled up the
British ensign. Under intense fire
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and was congratulated on his success with a swift drink from a flask.
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to move closer to the docks. At 1.27 am and closing on the gate,
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after an escape attempt. He was repatriated after feigning illness.
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Death has no dominion as more bereaved take control of the ashes
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Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
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Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers 1939–1945, W
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After the war he returned to farming, and in 1963 became
165:(24 April 1917 – 11 October 1998) was a British peer and
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Robert Charles Michael Vaughan Wynn, 7th Baron Newborough
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Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
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Colditz Castle – Oflag IVC – POW Information Sources
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467:and blinded in one eye, heard the explosion. Five
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583:, 28 October 1998. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
522:for allegedly firing a 9 lb (4.1 kg)
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779:5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers
688:, 5 January 2004. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
375:would later explode and hopefully destroy the
169:officer who played a decisive role during the
819:World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
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487:courtesy of his captors was moved to
212:5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
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774:9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers
658:. 19 May 1942. pp. 2225–2226.
605:British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939–45
226:boat for the Naval air station at
29:Michael Wynn, 7th Baron Newborough
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518:In 1976 he was called before the
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538:and he was charged with causing
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398:The Chariot force sailed from
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655:The London Gazette
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650:"No. 35566"
526:across the
520:magistrates
489:Marlag Nord
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361:Campbeltown
357:destroyer,
335:St. Nazaire
293:instead of
272:Scharnhorst
208:9th Lancers
35:Nickname(s)
748:Categories
730:1965–1998
550:References
532:Fort Belan
524:cannonball
416:Aldis lamp
385:destroyers
329:St Nazaire
250:Royal Navy
244:sand dunes
185:Early life
75:Allegiance
49:1917-04-24
685:The Times
485:glass eye
406:towed by
359:HMS
278:Gneisenau
256:HMS
104:1935–1946
96:(1941–46)
91:(1935–40)
544:Istanbul
499:Post-war
400:Falmouth
319:lockgate
295:midships
291:foredeck
236:Ramsgate
214:and the
109:Commands
83:Service/
70:, Turkey
68:Istanbul
479:Colditz
391:and 16
355:US Navy
344:Tirpitz
267:Gosport
232:Dunkirk
179:Colditz
493:Bremen
404:MTB 74
381:MTB 74
366:Amatol
323:MTB 74
315:MTB 74
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285:, the
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240:Calais
152:Farmer
139:Awards
112:MTB 74
85:branch
38:Mickey
536:yacht
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402:with
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58:Died
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