大象传媒

Norman Askew served as a coder in the Navy from 1941 to 1946.

By the beginning of 1944 pack attacks by u-boats were no longer practicable - the Bay of Biscay bases were abandoned and the surviving U-boats transferred to northern bases such as Norway.
Their absence enabled many of the Atlantic convoy escorts of destroyers to be used nearer home and ready for the invasion of France. HMS Melbreak was one of them.
We were based in Plymouth from February 1944 and did nightly patrols near the French Channel Ports.
On June 2 we were in harbour at Portland Bill in readiness for D-Day, due to gale force winds and adverse weather conditions, sailing was delayed until 10pm on June 5 when we were shown photographs of the coastline which we were to shell.
We escorted the US cruiser Tuscaloosa and Quincey down the channel which was being swept by minesweepers. We arrived about 3 miles off the French Coast at 7am on June 6 and shelled the seaside town of Port en Bessin, where it was known a large number of German soldiers were stationed the two US cruisers were shelling further inland.
Bristish Troops went ashore at 7.25am.
Records show that in total 9 battleships, 24 cruisers and 76 destroyers were involved in the bombardment that morning.
About 5pm we sailed for Plymouth our D-Day was over!
We then patrolled nightly off the French Coast to intercept shipping escaping from French Channel Ports as invasion forces advanced.
Unforunately at 2am one morning HMS Melbreak was mistaken for an enemy ship and was bombed by the RAF and suffered 43 casualties out of a total crew of 181.
After 5 weeks refitting in East India Docks, London we were based in Sheerness until the end of the war having sailed 101,203 miles in the same destroyer.
It was then that I revealed a well kept secret- I could't swim!!

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