{"id":223137,"date":"2023-10-08T12:48:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-08T12:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allworldreport.com\/?p=223137"},"modified":"2023-10-08T12:48:09","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T12:48:09","slug":"royal-navy-ship-the-hms-medusa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allworldreport.com\/world-news\/royal-navy-ship-the-hms-medusa\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Navy ship the HMS Medusa"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Royal Navy ship the HMS Medusa that played crucial D-Day role won&#8217;t be at 80th anniversary Normandy landings in 2024&#8230; due to soaring fuel costs<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>HMS Medusa was one of the first Allied vessels to arrive on Normandy&#8217;s beaches<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Thousands of pounds need to be found to get the ship to next year&#8217;s celebration\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A Royal Navy ship that performed a crucial role on D-Day won&#8217;t be able to attend the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings next year &#8211; because of soaring fuel bills.<\/p>\n<p>HMS Medusa was one of the first Allied vessels to arrive off the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944, and acted as a marker for minesweepers.<\/p>\n<p>She was a Harbour Defence Motor Launch and out of nearly 500 vessels in her class she is the only one remaining in original condition.<\/p>\n<p>The volunteers who keep her ship-shape had hoped to return to the scene of her finest wartime mission next June, but need to find thousands of pounds to pay for the trip.<\/p>\n<p>It will cost \u00a38,000 for 6,000 litres of marine diesel for the return voyage from Gosport, Hants, to Normandy.<\/p>\n<p>They are now appealing for donations so Medusa can make the trip.<\/p>\n<p>Her present captain Alan Watson OBE said: &#8216;We&#8217;d love to go to France next year and think it fitting, but costs have risen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;On top of the \u00a320,000 a year we need just to keep her in a seaworthy condition we need another \u00a310,000 and most of that is fuel costs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/20\/76284257-12602973-image-a-53_1696705264440.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>HMS Medusa was one of the first Allied vessels to arrive off the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944, and acted as a marker for minesweepers<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/20\/76284259-12602973-image-a-54_1696705272526.jpg\" height=\"475\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>She was a Harbour Defence Motor Launch and out of nearly 500 vessels in her class she is the only one remaining in original condition<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/20\/76284267-12602973-image-a-55_1696705276991.jpg\" height=\"432\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Medusa, 72ft long, carried the most advanced navigation equipment to help her locate the exact spot on the day of the landings\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/20\/76284263-12602973-image-a-56_1696705312481.jpg\" height=\"476\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The volunteers who keep her ship-shape had hoped to return to the scene of her finest wartime mission next June (Pictured &#8211; The engine room on board the ship)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Many ships that took part in D-Day will be marking the anniversary in UK waters, but we think Medusa should be in France.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>HMS Medusa was built in Poole, Dorset in 1943.<\/p>\n<p>She set off from Portland Harbour on the night of June 4, 1944, before the invasion was delayed.<\/p>\n<p>She returned, waited, then set off again on June 5 to mark a precise spot on the edge of a German minefield off Omaha beach for the following day&#8217;s invasion.<\/p>\n<p>There she stayed as a beacon for the minesweepers so they knew where to cut a passage to the beaches, and as a marker for the invading force that followed.<\/p>\n<p>Medusa, 72ft long, carried the most advanced navigation equipment to help her locate the exact spot.<\/p>\n<p>This kit was so precious that she was fitted with demolition charges so she could destroy herself rather than let her equipment be taken by the enemy.<\/p>\n<p>For 30 hours she stayed in the same location, allowing the ships and landing craft a safe passage through the water to the beaches.<\/p>\n<p>After the landings, Medusa, who turns 80 this month, worked off Scotland as an escort to a minesweeping flotilla and in May 1945 went to Ijmuiden in the Netherlands where she accepted the surrender of the occupying German forces.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/20\/76284261-12602973-image-a-57_1696705320896.jpg\" height=\"475\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Her present captain Alan Watson OBE said: &#8216;We&#8217;d love to go to France next year and think it fitting, but costs have risen&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/20\/76284265-12602973-image-a-58_1696705324748.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>It will cost \u00a38,000 for 6,000 litres of marine diesel for the return voyage from Gosport, Hants, to Normandy<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/20\/76284269-12602973-image-a-59_1696705328679.jpg\" height=\"541\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>D-Day &#8211; Operation Neptune &#8211; in June 1944 was the biggest seaborne invasion in history (Pictured &#8211; plans for the operation)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From there she navigated the North Sea Canal to Amsterdam, the first allied ship to do so, and was there for VE Day on the 9th of May.<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE:\u00a0How the Daily Mail revealed the D-Day assault, hailing it as &#8216;the first historic day of Europe&#8217;s liberation&#8217;\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/17\/14427340-12602973-The_Daily_Mail_s_front_page_the_day_after_D_Day_was_incredibly_o-a-11_1696609070904.jpg\" height=\"390\" width=\"274\"><\/p>\n<p>The Daily Mail&#8217;s front page the day after D-Day was incredibly optimistic, with the splash declaring the &#8216;first historic day of Europe&#8217;s liberation has gone completely in favour of the Allies&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Capt Watson said: &#8216;She is an incredible survivor. There are one or two hulls of her class remaining used as house boats and one other that has been modernised, so she is unique.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;She was built in Poole in Dorset on the site now occupied by Sunseeker, the motor yacht builder.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;She had a short but eventful war and took part in Exercise Fabius 1 &#8211; the rehearsal for the Normandy landings conducted at Slapton Sands in Devon.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;On D-Day itself she performed a very important role and had an increased crew of 20, up from the usual 12.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;She had to be extremely precise with her positioning and her job as &#8216;navigational leader&#8217; was to mark &#8216;Channel 4&#8217; \u2013 one of the passages to Omaha beach \u2013 for the minesweepers then the invasion force, which consisted of mainly Americans.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;None of her D-Day crew are alive today but in their memory we&#8217;d like to take her across the Channel.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;We have a volunteer crew and a team that keeps her seaworthy, but we need extra funds to enable us to go.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Medusa was sold by the Admiralty in 1968 after 25 years&#8217; service and was intended for the breaker&#8217;s yard, but a group led by Mike Boyce in Weymouth spent 18 years restoring her.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;In 2002 a trust was formed to look after her and she is now based at Gosport in Hampshire.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;This country&#8217;s maritime heritage is often overlooked and Medusa is a living, breathing part of that history.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>D-Day &#8211; Operation Neptune &#8211; in June 1944 was the biggest seaborne invasion in history.<\/p>\n<p>Allied forces left England&#8217;s south coast for France where they began to liberate the continent from the Nazis, and begin the ending of World War II.<\/p>\n<p>Donations can be made through the Medusa Trust&#8217;s website https:\/\/www.hmsmedusa.org.uk\/<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12602973\/Royal-Navy-ship-HMS-Medusa-D-Day-80th-anniversary-Normandy-landings.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Royal Navy ship the HMS Medusa that played crucial D-Day role won&#8217;t be at 80th anniversary Normandy&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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