Cameron's Raid

Right from the start the whole exercise seemed doomed. When he heard he was to take part in one of Churchill's most audacious - some would say foolhardy - operations, Lieutenant-Commander Donald Cameron reckoned expendability was in the air. And it struck the ships' companies as probably the Admiralty's prime consideration in mounting Operation Scatter. With a reduced complement and minimal supplies and armaments, Cameron is given the command of a shaky old P-class destroyer, and joins two others in a similarly rusty state for the short crossing to the French port of Brest. There they are to penetrate right into the port and land a detachment of marine commandos, who are to blow up the huge German U-boat pens which have so far proved an impossible target for the RAF. Despite pre-arranged support from the French Resistance, the British destroyers face heavy fire as they enter Brest. When the Senior Officer's ship is blown up, and the commandos fail to make the return rendezvous at the quayside, control of the operation falls to Cameron. Knowing that German warships are in the offing, he decides to creep inland, up the shallows of the Race de Brest, and make contact with the Resistance. It may seem hopeless, but to attempt a dash to sea without British naval support outside Brest would be suicide.