Real heroes never die Dunkirk 1940 evacuation with the

Aquabelle yacht and Spitfire N3200.

Pierre-Franois 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 n1: 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-rafsangatte-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 n2: 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 n3: JeanMichel 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 Rhne Ste 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 a boat, built 13 years after, and changed to match as possible to a
destroyer of the time involved in Operation Dynamo. The good war films do not always have the concern
for historical truth. It was also the case of Week-end 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 n4: the History film Dunkirk during shooting The Moonstone, a fictional Little Ship, on which we
see Barry Keoghan 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 n5: 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 n6: original 1940 leaflet dunkirk1940.org
References:
-Cambridge News. July 9, 2015: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/prince-william-arrives-imperial-warmuseum/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-Luftwafferestored.html#ixzz4Dw6Ojxax
-Stephenson Geoffrey D. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_D._Stephenson

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