309:
we would run them over to
Boulogne and about five or six miles out of the harbour, we would set the controls and lash them – with the boilers going full bore – and run them into Boulogne harbour and let them blow up, to destroy the potential German invasion fleet. It was called Operation Lucid and we spent four weeks preparing. We practised setting the controls and evacuating the ship with two speedboats alongside us which had been commandeered from Southend. These speedboats were remarkable things. They could go at 35 or 40 knots and the idea was that at the blowing of a whistle, we had to rush down, get in the boats and we were away. Those four weeks were a bit hairy because the tanker was full up with fuel oil when it came to us and it was primed and ready to explode and there were air raids at night. When you're in a tanker, sitting on all this explosive material and the Germans are coming over and dropping bombs, it's not very ... shall I say 'sleep inspiring' experience. I got round to the idea that I had to sleep or I wouldn't be able to walk around the next day.
60:
31:
308:
In July 1940, I joined a Royal Fleet
Auxiliary tanker – the War African – that was anchored off Sheerness for an idea that I have always assumed was thought up by Churchill. These tankers were filled up with fuel oil and there were mines and detonators down in the holds. The idea was that
211:
were required for the operation but these were in short supply. Only the "oldest crocks laid up in our rivers and creeks which had not been to sea for years and were useless except for scrap metal" could be spared. Workers were put to the task of coaxing three of these old crocks back into service.
295:
were added to give the ships more punch. The idea was to sail at night until the fire ships were near the entrances of the target ports. All but two or three of the crew would be taken off, detonation timers would be set and each ship put to its final heading towards a harbour mouth. The remaining
212:
Time was of the essence and Agar regretted that for the sake of secrecy he could not tell the workmen what the ships were for, he was certain that they would have worked more enthusiastically had they known the truth. A rumour was put about that they were to be used as
300:
at the last minute. When the explosives detonated, the fire ship's hold would rupture and with a ship in, or as close as possible to, the harbour mouth, a slick of burning fuel would be drawn into the harbour by the rising tide.
382:
to continue. Unwilling to sacrifice the element of surprise and under orders from
Churchill not to hesitate to call things off if the plan did not go well, Agar cancelled the operation. The recall reached
387:
7 nmi (8.1 mi; 13 km) from
Boulogne. Another attempt was made on 3 October, this was thwarted by bad weather, as was an attempt for the following night. On the night of 7/8 October, an
902:
897:
220:
motor-boats on which the crew would escape; there was an unwillingness to release good boats to equip ancient oilers and there was a last minute panic to get speed-boats.
155:
produced a flaming ribbon 880 yd (800 m) × 6 ft (1.8 m) that could be towed at 4 kn (4.6 mph; 7.4 km/h). Neither idea proved workable.
108:. The attack was initiated several times in September and October that year but unreliable ships and unfavourable weather caused the plan to be aborted on each occasion.
391:
damaged an escorting destroyer with Agar on board; the convoy scattered and the destroyer limped home. Plans were made for another attempt in early
November but by then
139:(PWD) aimed to burn the invasion barges before they could reach the English shore. The first idea was simply to explode a vessel filled with oil, and this was tried at
395:
had postponed
Operation Sealion and the Admiralty correspondingly postponed Operation Lucid. The plan was revived in the spring of 1941 but never put into action.
147:, with 50 t (49 long tons) of petroleum was blown up in shallow water. Another idea was that oil should be held in place on the water by a trough formed from
233:
275:
a cocktail of 50 per cent heavy fuel oil, 25 per cent diesel oil and 25 per cent petrol developed by the PWD.. The leaky bulkheads caused the engine rooms of
240:
124:
to meet the invasion and also sought to attack the
Germans before any landings took place. As invasion barges were seen to gather in French ports along the
260:
in 1919. Both ships were 412 feet (126 m) long and 52 ft 4 in (15.95 m) abeam with a draft of 25 ft 7 in (7.80 m) and a
427:
121:
162:
459:
907:
245:, having been laid up for years, were now coaxed back into service but they were slow – less than six knots – and unreliable.
165:
before they left port. The plan was first floated in early June–July 1940 and became known as
Operation Lucid. Lucid had the backing of
401:
continued in service as an oil hulk until being broken up in 1958. In 1962, her ship's bell was remounted on the quarterdeck of the
422:
532:
513:
524:
505:
852:
833:
249:
178:
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had been built in 1918 with a grt of 5,218, 401 ft (122 m) long and 52 ft 3 in (15.93 m) abeam.
814:
151:
matting. A machine formed the trough from a flat mat as it was paid out over the stern of a ship. Trials with the
745:
136:
104:
to attack invasion barges that were gathering in ports on the northern coast of France in preparation for
882:– an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC.
467:
271:
The ships were quickly made ready and each filled with 2,000–3,000 long tons (2,000–3,000 t)
551:
802:
402:
261:
169:. The idea of using fire ships against Hitler's invasion just as the English had attacked the
229:
35:
16:
1940 British plan to use fireships to destroy barges gathering for the invasion of
Britain.
363:
and other vessels escorted the fireships. Agar commanded the operation from the destroyer
8:
547:
202:
674:
649:
173:
in 1588 appealed to
Churchill's sense of history. Recalling a pre-emptive attack by Sir
364:
360:
105:
848:
829:
810:
790:
166:
120:
in July 1940, the Germans threatened to invade Britain. The British Government made
826:
The World's Merchant Fleets, 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships
129:
125:
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as his staff officer because of his experience with setting explosive charges.
198:
170:
117:
891:
770:
388:
280:
190:
174:
794:
782:
432:
410:
392:
292:
140:
525:
Piece reference WO 193/734—Use of oil for defensive and offensive purposes
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to fill with fumes that caused men to pass out and later resulted in the
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344:
297:
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208:
194:
81:
332:
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concluding that the crew were drunk. To this lethal load, bundles of
213:
101:
406:
348:
351:. A diversionary bombardment by the RAF was also ordered against
284:
30:
352:
336:
216:. Another problem with secrecy was the difficulty in acquiring
148:
903:
Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II
898:
Cancelled military operations involving the United Kingdom
201:(VC) in 1918 was chosen to lead the operation. Agar chose
725:
845:
Forgotten Voices of the Blitz and the Battle of Britain
701:
552:"Operation Lucid (extract from The Unforgiving Minute)"
506:
Piece reference PREM 3/264—LUCID operation (fireships).
620:
618:
593:
591:
489:
487:
485:
161:
provided a trial for a more ambitious scheme to burn
689:
630:
460:"A History of the Battle of Britain: Bomber Command"
713:
615:
603:
588:
482:
428:British anti-invasion preparations of World War II
561:. Southampton Master Mariners' Club. pp. 4–5
889:
662:Gives comparable, but slightly different figures
181:", he wanted to "singe Mr Hitler's moustache".
542:
540:
318:
323:Late in the afternoon of 26 September 1940,
537:
304:Chief Petty Officer Ronald Apps recalled,
132:(RAF) was sent to attack them by bombing.
73:Defence of Britain against German invasion
847:. Ebury Press & Imperial War Museum.
743:
177:, Churchill said that just as Drake had "
744:White, Christopher J.; Robinson, Peter.
675:"WWI Standard Ships: War A — War B"
650:"WWI Standard Ships: War I — War O"
580:"Captain Augustus Agar, VC (Obituary)".
546:
423:List of Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship names
801:
731:
378:suffered boiler problems, leaving only
890:
842:
823:
695:
636:
584:. 1 January 1969. p. 10 column F.
781:
763:
493:
250:Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company
769:
719:
707:
624:
609:
597:
106:a German invasion of Britain in 1940
908:World War II in the English Channel
370:. An unfavourable wind blew up and
13:
14:
919:
374:soon dropped out; a little later
179:singed the King of Spain's beard
58:
29:
789:. Sampson Low, Marston and Co.
746:"RFA Fire Ships in World War 2"
737:
667:
642:
862:
573:
518:
499:
452:
184:
1:
441:
828:. US Naval Institute Press.
466:. RAF Museum. Archived from
137:Petroleum Warfare Department
111:
7:
416:
405:'s Sea Cadet unit based at
197:, who had been awarded the
143:where a Thames oil tanker,
10:
924:
319:Execution and cancellation
100:was a British plan to use
87:
77:
69:
53:
45:
28:
23:
446:
843:Levine, Joshua (2007).
296:crew would escape in a
824:Jordan, Roger (2006).
403:Royal New Zealand Navy
316:
273:Agar's Special Mixture
262:gross register tonnage
193:was an officer of the
775:Footprints in the Sea
533:The National Archives
514:The National Archives
306:
230:Royal Fleet Auxiliary
677:. World Ship Society
652:. World Ship Society
548:Morgan-Giles, Morgan
470:on 27 September 2010
710:, pp. 153–154.
361:motor torpedo boats
335:and headed towards
203:Morgan Morgan-Giles
135:Experiments by the
870:"WW2 People's War"
809:. LTM Publishing.
787:Flame Over Britain
777:. Cox & Wyman.
764:General references
854:978-0-09-191004-4
835:978-1-59114-959-0
783:Banks, Sir Donald
734:, pp. 37–41.
464:Battle of Britain
409:on New Zealand's
122:strenuous efforts
95:
94:
915:
881:
879:
877:
858:
839:
820:
798:
778:
758:
757:
755:
753:
748:. Historical RFA
741:
735:
729:
723:
717:
711:
705:
699:
693:
687:
686:
684:
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671:
665:
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264:of about 5,600.
78:Executed by
64:
62:
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33:
21:
20:
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922:
918:
917:
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187:
163:invasion barges
130:Royal Air Force
126:English Channel
114:
98:Operation Lucid
59:
57:
54:Planned by
41:
24:Operation Lucid
17:
12:
11:
5:
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911:
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905:
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884:
883:
864:
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834:
821:
815:
807:Shingle Street
803:Hayward, James
799:
779:
771:Agar, Augustus
765:
762:
760:
759:
736:
724:
722:, p. 155.
712:
700:
688:
666:
641:
629:
627:, p. 152.
614:
612:, p. 149.
602:
600:, p. 147.
587:
572:
536:
517:
498:
481:
450:
448:
445:
443:
440:
439:
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430:
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418:
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355:. A number of
343:set sail from
331:set sail from
320:
317:
311:
199:Victoria Cross
186:
183:
171:Spanish Armada
118:fall of France
116:Following the
113:
110:
93:
92:
89:
85:
84:
79:
75:
74:
71:
67:
66:
65:United Kingdom
55:
51:
50:
47:
43:
42:
34:
26:
25:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
920:
909:
906:
904:
901:
899:
896:
895:
893:
886:
871:
867:
866:
856:
850:
846:
841:
837:
831:
827:
822:
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816:0-9522780-0-6
812:
808:
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784:
780:
776:
772:
768:
767:
747:
740:
733:
728:
721:
716:
709:
704:
698:, p. 58.
697:
692:
676:
670:
663:
651:
645:
639:, p. 85.
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633:
626:
621:
619:
611:
606:
599:
594:
592:
583:
576:
560:
553:
549:
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541:
534:
530:
529:The Catalogue
526:
521:
515:
511:
510:The Catalogue
507:
502:
496:, p. 48.
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389:acoustic mine
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293:depth charges
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281:harbourmaster
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191:Augustus Agar
182:
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175:Francis Drake
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76:
72:
68:
56:
52:
48:
44:
40:
37:
32:
27:
22:
19:
885:
874:. Retrieved
844:
825:
806:
786:
774:
750:. Retrieved
739:
732:Hayward 1994
727:
715:
703:
691:
679:. Retrieved
669:
661:
654:. Retrieved
644:
632:
605:
581:
575:
563:. Retrieved
559:The Cachalot
558:
528:
520:
509:
501:
472:. Retrieved
468:the original
463:
454:
434:
411:North Island
398:
397:
384:
379:
375:
371:
366:
340:
328:
324:
322:
307:
303:
276:
272:
270:
265:
257:
256:in 1918 and
253:
247:
241:
235:
232:(RFA) ships
226:War Africain
225:
224:(the former
221:
217:
207:
188:
158:
157:
152:
144:
141:Maplin Sands
134:
115:
97:
96:
38:
18:
876:19 February
863:Collections
696:Levine 2007
637:Jordan 2006
209:Oil tankers
185:Preparation
892:Categories
494:Banks 1946
474:18 October
442:References
357:destroyers
345:Portsmouth
298:motor boat
289:gun cotton
252:had built
214:blockships
195:Royal Navy
102:fire ships
82:Royal Navy
720:Agar 1961
708:Agar 1961
681:18 August
656:18 August
625:Agar 1961
610:Agar 1961
598:Agar 1961
582:The Times
435:Sansinena
399:War Nawab
380:War Nawab
376:War Nizam
365:HMS
341:War Nawab
333:Sheerness
325:War Nizam
277:War Nawab
258:War Nawab
254:War Nizam
242:War Nizam
236:War Nawab
234:RFA
167:Churchill
112:Inception
91:Cancelled
70:Objective
49:1940–1941
39:War Nawab
805:(1994).
785:(1946).
773:(1961).
433:SS
417:See also
407:Wanganui
372:Oakfield
367:Campbell
349:Boulogne
329:Oakfield
312:—
291:and old
266:Oakfield
222:Oakfield
218:reliable
189:Captain
153:Ben Hann
795:2037548
752:29 July
565:29 July
285:cordite
228:), and
159:Suffolk
145:Suffolk
88:Outcome
46:Planned
851:
832:
813:
793:
393:Hitler
353:Ostend
337:Calais
128:, the
63:
872:. BBC
555:(PDF)
447:Notes
385:Nawab
878:2007
849:ISBN
830:ISBN
811:ISBN
791:OCLC
754:2010
683:2010
658:2010
567:2010
476:2010
339:and
327:and
248:The
239:and
149:coir
347:to
36:RFA
894::
660:.
617:^
590:^
557:.
550:.
539:^
531:,
527:,
512:,
508:,
484:^
462:.
413:.
359:,
287:,
880:.
857:.
838:.
819:.
797:.
756:.
685:.
569:.
478:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
