blazerman Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 sunday we found ourselves heading up to southend on the hunt for more mulberry to paddle out to. got there to find the tide coming in so it was a mad paddle the mile to it before it submerged ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Whats the story behind this one? It looks like it has snapped in half? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Whats the story behind this one? It looks like it has snapped in half? World War II Caisson (Mulberry Harbour) This is a ‘Phoenix’ caisson, its back broken, lying on the West Knock sandbank about 1.8 km off Thorpe Bay. The caisson is a section of temporary ‘Mulberry Harbour’ intended to be used in the Normandy landings following D Day, for the rapid re-supply of troops. The Mulberry Harbours were planned to extend 3.5 km along the coast and extend 1.75 km out to sea. The Mulberry Harbour formed at Arromanches played a crucial role in on the success of the landings. This caisson was being towed from Immingham, on the Humber, to Southsea in the run up to D Day, when it sprang a leak and was brought into the Thames estuary and allowed to sink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Wow that is fasinating! Kind of thinking Blazerman has the best life.......! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Wow that is fasinating! Kind of thinking Blazerman has the best life.......! He's not very brave though or he would of visited the SS Montgomery:shake: they reckon that if it ever blows it will give Southend a well earned face lift... might ruin Snappers day though:-D SS Richard Montgomery The SS RICHARD MONTGOMERY was a US Liberty Ship of 7146 gross tons. She was built in 1943 by the St John’s River Shipbuilding Company of Jacksonville, Florida and was one of over 2700 of these mass-produced vessels built to carry vital supplies for the war effort. In August 1944 the ship was loaded with a cargo of some 7000 tons of munitions and joined convoy HX-301 bound for the UK and then on to Cherbourg. On arrival in the Thames Estuary, the vessel was directed to anchor in the Great Nore anchorage off Sheerness. The ship was to await the formation of a convoy to continue the journey across the Channel. However, on the 20th August 1944, she dragged her anchor in the shallow water and grounded on a sandbank running east from the Isle of Grain approximately 250m north of the Medway Approach Channel. The vessel grounded amidships on the crest of the sandbank and intensive efforts began to unload her in order to lighten the vessel so that she could be refloated and also to save the cargo of munitions that were vital for the Allies post-D-Day advancement. Unfortunately, by the next day, a crack appeared in the hull and the forward end began to flood. The salvage effort continued until the 25th September, by which time approximately half the cargo had been successfully removed. The salvage effort had to be abandoned when the vessel finally flooded completely. The wreck of the SS RICHARD MONTGOMERY remains on the sandbank where she sank. The wreck lies across the tide close to the Medway Approach Channel and her masts are clearly visible above the water at all states of the tide. There are still approximately 1,400 tons of explosives contained within the forward holds. Reviewed 2 June 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 WOW WOW! Christ we have some great WWII history around our coast and that is a fascinating one. - Blazerman, we need a 'floating' reporter for The Pathfinder Magazine - get that canoe back out there.......! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Wow great stuff!! Lots of stuff still lurking at the seabed, some to haunt us in the (near) future. Like all the WWI gas-shells that were dumped in the sea near Oostende.... :captain: @Blazerman, fantastic pics! I'm going to use them on the front page if you don't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Nice pic's Blazerman. You'll have to join us on one of our trips to Darnet Fort (Medway). A recent clip from the local paper: http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4575192.Youth_injured_jumping_off_Mulberry_Harbour/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormin Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Wow so I don't need to go to France to see these remarkable feats of engineering! Anyone know the were abouts of any more mulberries, besides the Essex and the Dorset ones? Seems they were constructed at many more locations around the country and not all made it to the French coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerman Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 hi joris thats fine with me to use pics of any of the mulberrys we have visited still got a few more to do ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 we have visited still got a few more to do ! Yes please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerman Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 wow that looks a cool place to visithttp://www.undergroundkent.co.uk/darnet_fort.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Yes Blazerman, one of my fav's. It's been flooded by the local council (scum!) to deter vandals and chavs. You'll be able to paddle around it in your canoe tho'. If you take a head lamp/torch with you, you'll be able to see the magazines too (not seen by many, due to the flooding.). It's about a mile from The Strand leisure park (nice slipway and car park there), as is Hoo Fort which you'll see opposite Darnet Fort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Story is now on the front page! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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