Dear CFV members,
This is an introduction to my model railway layout and some models which I have built over the years.
I have a deep and passionate interest in the D-Day project, Dunkirk and the naval forces which operated out of Folkestone harbour over the 1900-1945 period.
For a WW2 scenario on the layout I have researched and outlined the following history of naval forces. I would like to identify the flotilla of HDML's which made up the naval component of Operation Glimmer to be used as models for the harbour. From the excellent websites of CFV, Coastal Forces, Combined Ops, HMS Medusa and others I have determined that there were six HDMLs on each of the ops Taxable and Glimmer, and I am assuming that these were from the 149th ML Flotilla (Special Operations) based at Newhaven. The question is which boats were assigned to Op Glimmer and which sailed from Folkestone in support of the 6 Stirling's from 219 Gold Coast squadron. The Special Task Force B was commanded by Lieutenant Commander W. M. Rankin. The US based Military Naval History website has the Neptune plan and gives the timings of the operation as 03:30 with 6 HDML's, and the website Codenames notes that this force returned to port by 13:00 on the 6th June.
From the HMS Medusa archives the boats in 149th Special Ops flotilla are 12 HDML, namely, ML1295, ML1309, ML1383, ML1387, ML1389, ML1391, ML1392, ML1393, ML1407, ML1409, ML1421, ML1422, but none are identified as being in the Operation Glimmer.
Of these 12 boats there are 8 with other assignments which have been recorded as:
lane markers for American airborne flights - 1295, 1309.
lane markers for Gold beach - 1391, 1392.
lane markers for Juno beach - 1393, 1407.
lane markers for Utah beach - 1421, 1422.
Operation Bigdrum, 1309.
The picture is unclear and any help of guidance to useful sources would be most welcome,
With Thanks, David