Emergencies and World Disasters
They Walked a Booby-Trapped Destroyer - Then It Blew Apart
25 min•24 juli 2026
Om avsnittet
They Walked a Booby-Trapped Destroyer - Then It Blew Apart
Curiosity turned lethal: at noon on 28 March 1942 forty German officers walked the buckled decks of a wrecked British destroyer and were still talking when a hidden four-and-a-half-ton explosive charge detonated, destroying the Normandie dry dock in an instant. How did six hundred and twelve men sail into the Loire estuary, ram a disguised destroyer into the world's largest dry dock, and leave behind a wreck that reshaped the Atlantic war - and who paid the price for that decision?
In this episode, we tell the story of Operation Chariot and the Saint-Nazaire raid, outlining the tactical problem the British faced, the unique window of an unusually high spring tide, the disguised destroyer loaded with delayed explosives, and the commando teams sent in knowing sea extraction was unlikely. What exactly went wrong for the Germans who inspected the ship - and why was the dock’s destruction so decisive?
Person: Capt Bill Pritchard
Date: 28 March 1942
Location: Normandie dry dock, Saint-Nazaire
Event: Operation Chariot (raid on Saint-Nazaire)
Force size: 612 men
- The Normandie dry dock measured 350 metres long and 50 metres wide, the largest dry dock in the world at the time.
- The destroyer's bow held 4.5 tons of high explosive concealed in concrete and steel with a delayed-action fuse.
- The German port garrison included approximately 5,000 troops and 28 coastal guns, including 280 mm railway guns.
- The attack depended on an unusually high spring tide in late March 1942 that allowed a lightened destroyer to cross sandbanks and avoid mined approaches.
- Forty-two thousand tons, eight 15-inch guns and a top speed of 30 knots described the German battleship Tirpitz, the strategic reason the British targeted the dock.
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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
Curiosity turned lethal: at noon on 28 March 1942 forty German officers walked the buckled decks of a wrecked British destroyer and were still talking when a hidden four-and-a-half-ton explosive charge detonated, destroying the Normandie dry dock in an instant. How did six hundred and twelve men sail into the Loire estuary, ram a disguised destroyer into the world's largest dry dock, and leave behind a wreck that reshaped the Atlantic war - and who paid the price for that decision?
In this episode, we tell the story of Operation Chariot and the Saint-Nazaire raid, outlining the tactical problem the British faced, the unique window of an unusually high spring tide, the disguised destroyer loaded with delayed explosives, and the commando teams sent in knowing sea extraction was unlikely. What exactly went wrong for the Germans who inspected the ship - and why was the dock’s destruction so decisive?
Person: Capt Bill Pritchard
Date: 28 March 1942
Location: Normandie dry dock, Saint-Nazaire
Event: Operation Chariot (raid on Saint-Nazaire)
Force size: 612 men
- The Normandie dry dock measured 350 metres long and 50 metres wide, the largest dry dock in the world at the time.
- The destroyer's bow held 4.5 tons of high explosive concealed in concrete and steel with a delayed-action fuse.
- The German port garrison included approximately 5,000 troops and 28 coastal guns, including 280 mm railway guns.
- The attack depended on an unusually high spring tide in late March 1942 that allowed a lightened destroyer to cross sandbanks and avoid mined approaches.
- Forty-two thousand tons, eight 15-inch guns and a top speed of 30 knots described the German battleship Tirpitz, the strategic reason the British targeted the dock.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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