Real heroes never die –Dunkirk 1940 evacuation with the

Aquabelle yacht and Spitfire N3200.

Pierre-François PUECH

There have been many celebrated engines in war history but the Aquabelle ship and the Spitfire Mk1 N3200

plane can justifiably claim to be among the most famous of the Operation Dynamo taken over to Dunkirk

and emerged from the World War II.

Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force, French and Belgian soldiers from

the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France, began on 26 May and ended on 4 June 1940. They were rescued

by a flotilla of any and every craft that could make the channel crossing which included fishing boats,

pleasure craft and The Royal Navy as the new British Spitfire fighters helped provide air cover. Named Operation Dynamo, the largest military evacuation in history rescued from northern France an

estimated of 338,000 soldiers Allied troops. Nowadays, a spokesman for the film Dunkirk (release in July,

2017) said: 'Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they faced an impossible situation as the enemy

closes in.'

On the first day, a Spitfire, assembled in 1939 by Supermarine Aviation Southampton and flown by

Geoffrey Dalton Stephenson, was shot down in combat and remained on the beach. The pilot, Squadron

Leader Stephenson, got away from his plane as fast as he could and walked something like a hundred miles

through enemy territory ending up in Brussels where he went to the US embassy, which refused to take him

in as they were not yet involved in the war. With nowhere to go he surrendered and was captured by the

Germans and imprisoned at Colditz Castle near Leipzig. Following the war, Commodore Stephenson served

as the personal pilot for King George VI. He was killed, 8 Nov 1954, whilst test flying a F-100A Super

Sabre of the USAF at Eglin Air Force Base.

Figure n°1: the machine-gun-armed Spitfire Mk 1a N3200, loss the 26th May 1940, on the beach with

German soldiers at Sangatte, near Dunkirk © dunkirk1940.org. and World War Photos.

http://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/uk/raf/spitfire/spitfire-mk-ia-n3200-of-no-19-squadron-raf-

sangatte-beach-1940/

The Spitfire Mk 1a N3200 was recovered from the sands in 1986 and went on display at the V3 museum

untill 1995. Acquired in 2000 by Simon Marsh & Thomas Kaplan it moved to England and a hand-built new

fuselage constructed at Isle of Wight was transported to Historic Flying Ltd, Duxford. Restored during three

years by the Aircraft Restoration Company by a team of 12 engineers, new tires had to be made since this

aircraft has smooth Dunlop tires not used on later Spitfires, a three-blade metal de Havilland or Rotol

propeller was made as well. It can be seen in the Battle of Britain Hangar 3 at Duxford (Cambridge shire,

England) where it is flying again since March 26, 2014. It is one of only two Mk1 restored to original

specification and still flying. Prince William went on board ahead of the official Battle of Britain

anniversary and enthusiastically examined the controls, asked: "Can I just have another 10 minutes?" and

described the plane as "a really impressive piece of kit". After the display he toured a Battle of Britain

exhibition before receive the Supermarine Spitfire Mark I N3200 generously donated to Imperial War

Museums (IWM) by American entrepreneur philanthropist Thomas Kaplan (Cambridge News, 2015). The

American philanthropist said: "When my great childhood friend, Simon Marsh, and I embarked upon this

project, it was to pay homage to those who Churchill called "the Few", the pilots who were all that stood

between Hitler's darkness and what was left of civilization."

Salvation at Dunkirk came from dozens of 'little ships' that crossed the English Channel to aid the

evacuation process. The BBC had made a call on May 14 1940 requesting to all owners of self-propelled

pleasure craft between 30ft and 100ft in length to send all particulars to the Admiralty. Boats of all sorts

were requisitioned.

They sailed from Dover, and when they got to Dunkirk they faced chaos. Soldiers were hiding in sand dunes

from aerial attack and the German forces were closing in. Above them, RAF Spitfire and Hurricane were

attacking the German fighter planes to protect the men on the beaches. The little ships were meant to bring

soldiers to the larger ships and the ninth day, a total of 338,226 soldiers (198,229 British and 139,997

French) had been rescued by a fleet of 850 boats hastily assembled. The rescue of the British troops at

Dunkirk provided a psychological boost to British morale, for the whole country it was considered a great

victory. The Aquabelle motor yacht is one of the boats not only a masterpiece of the Operation Dynamo, but

also a historical testimony on the Dunkirk evacuation and to all those who contributed to the liberation of

Europe.

Figure n°2: a Spitfire buzzes a procession of little ships on its journey to Dunkirk in June 2000 to mark the

60th anniversary of the evacuation of British troops © Daily Mail

Aquabelle becomes the stuff of legend in the shipyard of “Marine et Tradition” at Palavas. For those

visiting Palavas, it will be a chance to remember incredible bravery, a chance to remember the sacrifice of

many on the Dunkik beach, and a time when men had to fight for a great cause. Aquabelle actual home base

is at the Headquarters of ‘Marine et Tradition’ which has a fleet of old ships on the River Lez at Palavas,

about 1km from the sea.

Figure n°3: Jean-

Michel Lacroute,

meticulous adjuster

which revives the

old apparatus © PF

Puech.

Aquabelle returned to the water on 16th June 2014 in the port of Palavas, with a small ceremony and a "God

Save the Queen"! She proved to be leak-tight, mainly thanks to the technique used by the shipwright Eric

Giaccobi of filling her bilges with seawater when caulking was finished to ensure her planks expanded to

close any gaps. The next day she set sail for its home base 'Les Quatre Vents', via the Mediterranean,

Frontignan and the Rhône à Sète Canal. The motor yacht emerged again in public the same year 2014 as the

aircraft of the Commodore Stephenson.

The Aquabelle story is a great story that I made short in an Academia.edu article: A small boat that managed

for Churchill a kind of triumph in may 1940, present at Palavas (South of France). The three cabin wooden

boat with a large pilothouse handled severe weather, and I admire her past with the Dynamo Operation and

gun-toting in waters watching for Nazi boats as well as her elegance. When you put your feet on her you feel

transported back in tangible history time. Alain Audren, the actual main owner, has put in new mahogany,

plumbing and three toilets, a new electrical system, modern navigation supplement equipment and new

refrigerator for the reason that the former fridge was present for the first launching of the ship on April 5,

1939.

Mythical boats for a film at Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan, the American director, chose for his

reconstruction of the operation Dynamo, the Castor, a boat built 13 years after, and changed to match as

possible to the HMS Basilisk H11 destroyer of the time involved and sunk in Operation Dynamo. The good

war films do not always have the concern for historical truth. It was also the case of ‘Week-end à Zuydcoote’

which also concerns the debacle of Dunkirk, but that was mostly a pretext to stage the young Belmondo

savagery adding immeasurably to the richness of the film. If an improbable romance does not drowning

'Dunkirk', it is certain that one lives very close of the boarding being under proper light in the region

between showers.

Figure n°4: the History film “Dunkirk” during shooting The Moonstone, a fictional Little Ship, on which we

see Barry Keoghan, the Basilisk replica and Ocean Wind 4, catamaran equipped with an IMAX camera.

© Bertrand Bonnet.

The videographer Bertrand Bonnet at Dunkirk took position during the filming and gave this photo on social

networks. We can thus see that the film version re-creates the appearance of some original ships like the

Aquabelle, in a wide shot to silhouettes.

Figure n°5: The Aquabelle Little Ship at Palavas (South of France) © PF Puech.

We shall fight on the beaches. On 4 June, Churchill, who had taken over as the British Prime Minister on

10 May, went to the House of Commons to report on the evacuation and consequent military situation after

invasion of Germans in North of France. This Speech brings into focus the role and status of testimony in

historiography:

“…We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by

evacuations. But there was a victory inside this deliverance, which should be noted. It was gained by the air

force. Many of our soldiers coming back have not seen the air force at work; they saw only the bombers

which escaped its protective attack. They underrate its achievements. I have heard much talk of this; that is

why I go out of my way to say this. I will tell you about it.

This was a great trial of strength between the British and German air forces. Can you conceive a greater

objective for the Germans in the air than to make evacuation from these beaches impossible, and to sink all

these ships which were displayed, almost to the extent of thousands? Could there have been an objective of

greater military importance and significance for the whole purpose of the war than this? They tried hard,

and they were beaten back; they were frustrated in their task. We got the Army away; and they have paid

fourfold for any losses which they have inflicted. Very large formations of German aeroplanes - and we

know that they are a very brave race - have turned on several occasions from the attack of one-quarter of

their number of the Royal Air Force, and have dispersed in

different directions. Twelve aeroplanes have been hunted

by two. One aeroplane was driven into the water and cast

away by the mere charge of a British aeroplane, which had

no more ammunition. All of our types - the Hurricane, the

Spitfire and the new Defiant - and all our pilots have been

vindicated as superior to what they have at present to face.

When we consider how much greater would be our

advantage in defending the air above this Island against an

overseas attack, I must say that I find in these facts a sure

basis upon which practical and reassuring thoughts may

rest…”

The film "Dunkirk", produced by the Warner Bros studios,

traces the fight during the evacuation by little ships of

Allied troops in spring 1940. It reproduces overflying the

beach and, as for the Hitchcock movie 'The birds', all kinds

suddenly begin to attack people, increasing in numbers and

with increasing viciousness, large explosions and leaflets

are discarded down in the streets, linking memory and

places of memory with History.

Figure n°6: original 1940 leaflet© dunkirk1940.org

The embarkation of the French troops. When the sailors of Union Jack had finished securing the salvation

of their compatriots, they worked to embark the French thanks to the time given by the support of the floods

around Dunkerque. All the weight of the battle of Flanders has been since May 31, 1940, in the region of the

mounts because the Maritime Flanders of the Wateringues were voluntarily flooded on 18 May 1940 to

protect Dunkerque following the invasion of Holland and of Belgium by the German armies (Havas, 1940).

The evening on May 20, in order to strengthen the defense, the decision was made to bring sea water with

the tide. Franco-British units then disputed the summits to the German forces, while the floods around

Dunkirk reached more than 45 centimeters in average depth prohibiting the action of the infantry and that of

the motorized units making Dunkerque an entrenched camp. Embarkation could start on May 26.

The terrain around Dunkirk was unsuitable due to the Wateringues that are specific water zone, located in

the north-west of France in the Dunkirk neighbors. This sea front was a wetland covering some 100,000 ha

and separated from the sea by natural dunes (figure n°7).

Figure n°7: les Wateringues © l’Agur.

On the 31st of May, as Marc Bloch (1946) recalled, "towards the beginning of the afternoon, the kindness of the

cavalry corps commander enabled me and two comrades to obtain a regular mission order. We had only to look for the

ship assigned to us.

Information about badly given made that my two companions and I had to cross twice Dunkirk, first from east to west,

then in the opposite direction. I keep a sharp memory of the city in ruins, with its hollowed facades, on which floated

waves of fumaroles, and scattered among its streets, less corpses than human debris. I still have in my ears the

incredible crash, which, like the finale at the end of a great opera, came to populate our last minutes on the shores of

Flanders with its sounds: explosions of bombs, bursts of shells, tac-tac of the machine guns, shots of DCA, and, to

better chant the symphony, the obstinate rhythm of the little cannon-revolver of the board. But, I confess, if I refer to

this day of the 31st, it is not these images of horror and danger that most strongly adhere to my memory.

I see again, above all, our departure from the beach pier. An admirable summer evening displayed its

prestige on the sea. The sky of pure gold, the calm mirror of the waters, the smoke, black and wild, which,

escaping from the refinery in flames, drawn above the low coast, arabesques so beautiful that one forgot

them the tragic origin; to the name of Hindu tale, finally, inscribed at the stern of our boat the Royal-

Daffodil; all, in the atmosphere of these first minutes of travel, seemed to conspire to make the selfish and

irresistible joy of a soldier escaping captivity”. The next morning of 1st June was clear.

The Royal Daffodil, launched in 1939, was one of the ships that participated in Operation Dynamo, the

evacuation of Dunkerque in 1940. It saved 9,500 men in seven voyages. The crossing that followed that of

Marc Bloch on June 2, 1940, a bomb caused a hole in the starboard edge, and the Master ordered each to put

on port side, which carried the starboard hole out of the water and allowed a temporary patch of mattress and

wood to be applied. Royal Daffodil made the trip safely to Ramsgate and landed the evacuees.

References:

AGUR 2014. Les Wateringues Hier, aujourd’hui et demain, http://www.agur-

dunkerque.org/ressources/Lists/Publications/Search-DispForm.aspx?ID=258: page 2.

-Bloch Marc (1886-1944). 1946. L’étrange défaite Société des Éditions Franc-Tireur, Paris, 1946, page 16.

édition électronique

-Cambridge News. July 9, 2015: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/prince-william-arrives-imperial-war-

museum/story-26870558-detail/story.html#ixzz4DwBC9n2s

-Churchill W. June 4, 1940. We shall fight on the beaches. Speech delivered to House of Commons.

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/apr/20/greatspeeches1

-Dailymail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3155230/Spitfire-shot-Luftwaffe-

restored.html#ixzz4Dw6Ojxax

-Stephenson Geoffrey D. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_D._Stephenson

-Havas, 1940. La bataille des Flandres –L’appui que nous donnent les inondations autour de Dunkerque : Le

réembarquement de nos troupes se poursuit à un rythme rapide, Paris 31 mai. L’Est Républicain samedi 1er

Juin page 3. http://www.kiosque-lorrain.fr/plugins/NewspaperReader/files/B543956101_745199_1940-06-

01/B543956101_745199_1940-06-01.pdf

-Puech P.-F. Sept.17, 2015: A small boat that managed for Churchill a kind of triumph in may 1940, present

at Palavas. https://fr.scribd.com/doc/283855825/A-small-boat-that-managed-for-Churchill-a-kind-of-triumph-

in-may-1940-present-at-Palavas-South-of-France