'The Hunt for Limbourne'

Returning to French territorial waters the British Trimix team responsible for last summers 'Charybdis' exploration are now challenged with the task of locating 'HMS Limbourne' the final missing chapter of the continuing story of 'Operation Tunnel' Story by Leigh Bishop In June of 2001 a British expedition ventured into French territorial waters only to bring home the first images of HMS Charybdis an anti aircraft cruiser lost in enemy action during the WW2 conflict. This expedition brought to the surface the story of 'Operation Tunnel', one of courage, misconception and tragedy, although for the team they left behind one huge missing chapter 'HMS Limbourne'! Lost in action alongside Charybdis this British Hunt class destroyer must itself lie close to the wreck of Charybdis, but the question was where?

Once again Keith Morris is the expedition leader with a team of deep wreck divers; John Ovenden and Paul Haslam are location experts while Ian Taylor is a dive skipper second to none. Between them these individuals move back into French waters with one mission, to find the grave where upon the survivors of this tragic affair could pay their respects to lost colleagues.A year of my life had passed since I last set eyes upon this section of French coastline, today was Jubilee day 2002 a day in which we had travelled over 100 miles across the channel in search of Limbourne. Ian Taylor's new dive vessel is a 36ft catamaran capable of some 29 knots; the boat 'Skin Deep' has punched into a force five sea from Weymouth since dawn. Needless to say we arrive on a researched position well before slack water. In the faint distance Haslams location vessel 'Deep Seeker' is just visible with him from Jersey Ovenden' brings along guests important to this project, survivors from both ships! Due to tidal and gas logistics for the following day three divers will descend to the unknown wreck below for a brief check out dive. Steve Parker, Mark Bullen and Chris Hutchison descend the shot line while the remaining team wait one hour for their observations. The divers bring back positive results and are more than confident that the wreck that lay some 80m below is that of a warship! Landing on what appears to be a broken stern section of an upright wreck they reported sighting a typical transom stern relatively intact with a single exposed offset port prop. On the highest point above the transom depth charges still remain in racks ready for deployment. The wreck then appeared to break down somewhat before an obvious twin four-inch gun turret and platform made for the end of their dive. The descriptions fitted perfect to the wreck we had come in search of however the section of wreck explored had been detailed small with no other wreckage within sight. Paul Haslam and John Ovenden had previously spent time in the area searching for the wreck; their sonar side scan images of the position had provided the divers a promising target.
The wreck lies a short distance from Perros-Guirec on the French mainland and the nearby harbour of Ploumanac'h 'although tidal' would provide an ideal base for the expedition. Award winning stills photographer Guy Middleton act's as expedition translator and was also responsible for the gas organisation. Once on site our own transport we would physically bring the gas to the quay for blending. Easily handling the job Taylor's on board compressor would then race against time to fill the open circuit cylinders before the tide grounded Skin Deep! Each half hour that passed saw our Haskel mixing system quickly shifted down the slip quite literally as the sea level dropped! Mixing gas on an expedition is an arduous task in its own, but as rain continued to fall spirits were dampened further.
Steve Keeling was a man with an inquisitive interest in the equipment and techniques the young divers had brought with them, as he said a far cry from equipment he had been used to. Steve himself was a diver, ships diver that is, assigned to HMS Charybdis from the time she was commissioned to when she sank. When not diving Steve manned a gun platform from which he saw plenty of action, through the likes of 'Operation Pedestal' to the night of 23rd Oct 1943. I had seen Steve's warship on the seabed at 83m although as we went for dinner that evening I let him do the talking! By Steve's side was Neil Wood a radar operator aboard HMS Limbourne the night she was lost. Neil or any of his colleagues of the survivors association had never seen images of his ship since she sank! Although within 24 hours of Jubilee day and after 59 years things were about to change, although before they did we could enjoy dinner and hear the story of his encounter that Oct evening.

Neil Wood shares his story with Deep Image
" We knew there was quite a large force present that night from the radar echoes on the screens. Although we continued to operate radar, all remaining communications were silent on the orders of the Senior Officer of Charybdis" " In the early hours of next morning while nearing the French coast we started to pick up echoes ahead of our group. We were also intercepting German radio messages, which confirmed these echoes as enemy ships. Closing the range we then saw the ships in our group were altering course then just as 'Limbourne' started to turn I heard the port Orelikion gunner shout ' Torpedo on the port quarter'! It seemed no sooner that he had shouted this warning that there was an almightily bang! The 286-radar cabin where I was on duty was on the upper deck at the foot of the mainmast. It was about 5 ft by 4 with a heavy metal clamped door, which was in all, pretty small for two operators. All the lighting had failed so in total darkness I found myself waking up wondering where I was with this heavy weight on my chest. The heavy weight was my oppo 'Benny Hawkyard' who like me had been knocked out by the explosion. When we came to we immediately tried to open the door, which had warped, and we couldn't loosen the clips. We heard voices outside and shouted for help. Fortunately for us Charlie Wivell, an operator from one of the other radars came to the rescue and hammered the clips back from the outside with a block of wood. Although the bows were blown off from just forward and under the bridge, the remainder of the ship did not sink right away, and fit members of the crew remained aboard in an effort to get her moving again. This proved unsuccessful and 'HMS Talybont' eventually came alongside to help us transfer our seriously wounded and remaining crew on board. What remained of Limbourne was torpedoed by our own ships to save her from falling into the enemy hands. That was the last I saw of my ship, until now 59 years later"

Early Start
The following day was again another early start, with the grapnel securely hooked in I descend alone down yet another of Ian Taylor's shot lines, which as, I soon found out has been secured from release to the aft section of a Quadruple 2pdr anti aircraft gun. The visibility was superb for the English channel although silt disturbance around the gun meant that I would have to return later to shoot film if only to avoid heavy backscatter. The seabed was almost 80m and I headed off along what was obviously the side of the ship, my awareness hunting for recognisable features to aid my navigation and thus wreck orientation. It appears that the superstructure of this wreck has but almost entirely collapsed down to deck level, which in turn leaves a confusing mass of cables, gantry's and steelwork. Much of course unrecognisable! Sections of Limbourne's Hull 'that is assuming at this stage this is Limbourne' have deteriorated exposing internal machinery within which by now offers a little more help as obvious diesel engines now make orientation somewhat clearer. Interestingly enough various features remain recognisable and I take time out to shoot some 35mm film. My VR3 mixed gas computer indicates that including decompression a total of 70 minutes will have to pass before I can surface, today I'm happy for that to run a little over 130 so I press on into the dive. With plenty of time left the dive will now decisively pick up in both interest and wreck features. If correct I'm heading towards the bow, well the bow end of the wreck that is, if of course any of this area remains after the torpedo hit! By now although still amongst a mass of unidentified machinery the picture is slowly beginning to unfold and if these sections of steel structure are what I think they are then I'm within the bridge location. Dropping down off the main hulk there is a scattered debris field and I am soon confronted by a bridge telegraph although amongst yet more cables and steel work. A quick glance over my shoulder gives a comforting feeling that I'm alone on this part of the wreck as high intensity lights from the other divers glimmer in the faint distance. Thinking a head I scan the area for photographic subjects before resting on the seabed and shooting film of the telegraph, again that way I will of course disturb less for other artifacts that will require an exposure themselves. My decision to do so falls in my favour as from the corner of my eye I catch what I've infact searched the area for, after 59 years I am privileged to be the first to set eyes on 'Limbourne's' heart, her ships bell. With a slight current flowing I settle down in a position to photograph the telegraph first, by doing so I will not disturb the visibility as I lay on the seabed before moving to the bell. Under normal circumstances I perhaps would not shoot as many exposures but today the rare sight of this bell will have more than its fare share if only to get one reasonably image. From the side of the bell and through almost 60 years of marine growth I can just about make out the words 'HMS Limbourne 1942'. It is early in the expedition and positive identification has arrived sooner than we had expected. I flash my beam to beckon other divers across to see for them-selves this fabulous artifact before I move on. Chris Hutchison is also a nearby diver and is able to shoot digital video for a topside documentary team also on site with us.
Unlike the 35mm stills film that I'm so accustomed to, the digital video footage could be viewed as we surfaced, thus each evening we would gather together to watch the moving images of the day. As we watched film that day our friends whose ship it once was, were able to enlighten us on some of the more unusual subject matters. For example many of us had seen what to us was an unidentified pedestal of some description, which to the survivors was immediately recognised and pointed out as a depth charge launcher. As they carried on pointing things out I soon realised that I had seen many of these features on other wreck sites, now I knew what they were.

Material Evidence
By the end of the expedition we had built up from both diving and video communication the exact layout of the vessel. From the sonar side scan images created by Ovenden & Haslam it appeared that a section of wreck lie a distance away from the remaining hull. We had determined that both bow and stern were indefinitely missing from the main midships and in theory the bow must lie elsewhere blown off by the Germans. As I described earlier we had already investigated a stern section of wreck, which must explain the section that lie a distance away, we had to find out. Chris Hutchison made it his mission to do so and would film as he went. From information taken from the side scan images he therefore set out alone on a bearing of 210º from a predetermined point on the wreck swimming out along the seabed at a depth of 80m in search of the missing wreckage. His film shows a seabed littered with shell cases as he makes his way into the darkness. Ovenden & Haslam's bearing information was accurate and soon the missing section looms out of the darkness to confront Chris with the stern section of Limbourne and that 3 bladed offset prop and typical counter stern he Parker & Bullen had seen on that first initial check out dive. This broken away stern section was only small in comparison to the remaining wreckage and lies parallel to it, her intact 4inch twin gun turret barrels facing west. Of the remaining main section the divers filmed and photographed a war ship of what once was, her twin torpedo-launching turret remains intact with torpedoes still inside. This entire platform sited on top of the midships once rotated either port or starboard to launch torpedos from high above the water line, we found her housed in her home position. Beyond here towards the bow a Quadruple 2pdr anti aircraft gun system with a stack of ready ammunition by its side made a somewhat Truk lagoon atmosphere to the whole affair. This gun commonly known as a 'pom pom' gun had a rate of fire of up to 115 rounds per minute, firing a 40mm round to a maximum ceiling of 13,000ft. Both sections of Limbourne we examined lay across the tide with her bow facing west-northwest some 280º only five miles from Charybdis and considerably close to the 'Les Sept Isles'. Her position will hopefully remain undisclosed for a good number of years to come leaving her to once again rest in peace.

Moving Times
We were all moved by the entire story of 'Operation Tunnel' but why had Morris returned in search of Limbourne " We have had so much help from the survivors association with Charybdis 2001, the expedition to find Limbourne was for them" A few days after the expedition Neil Wood wrote to the team going on to say "It was a very emotional and traumatic time for me, but having had some time to digest it all, I now have a kind of satisfactory feeling in knowing that my lost shipmates and ship, have a known grave site. I know the family and friends, of those who were lost, as well as my other survivor friends, they will be happy to hear of all your efforts."

Many of the survivors had a tale to tell, the likes of able seaman David 'Rocky' Royale Royal marine John Eskdale 19 at the time, Rodger Roberts & Charles Wivell. Here is only a small part of it although this second continued part of this tragic story is what 990 is about, a new generation bringing to life the stories of those that fought for us. The story of 'Operation Tunnel' is told in Volume 3 issue 4 of 990 or to find out more visit the survivors website which is at www.charybdis.limbourne.cwc.net

The team themselves would like to thank Graham Fox from Haskel Energy Systems, Neil Brock of Bristol Channel Diving (Cardiff) for supplying adapters & whips to drive the Haskel. Linde gas France for supplying gas and of course 'Fat Face' clothing for T-shirts'.
This was another historically important diving expedition to British Naval Maritime History, the dive team were: - Keith Morris expedition leader, Guy Middleton, Toby Herbert, Roy Smith, Mark Bullen, Tim Bach, Andy Hetherton, Julian Guest, Steve Parker, Chris Hutchison and myself Leigh Bishop.

Hit By The Enemy!
Limbourne survivors were spared the need to swim to save their lives. Those in Charybdis were not so fortunate. Those that survived the torpedo explosions and escaped from a rapidly listing and sinking ship were faced with three lethal hazards once they entered the water. Drowning, Hypothermia and the effect of furnace fuel oil. The lifejackets were fastened round the chest and restricted movement so those below deck did not often wear them. They had no inherent buoyancy and had to be blown up to provide this. They did not keep the head out of the water unless the wearer was conscious. The cold in the English Channel in October was sufficient to kill after an hour or two. While those with action stations on the upper deck would be warmly clad, those below especially in the machinery spaces would not. Torpedo explosions invariably released large quantities of thick, black, viscous furnace oil, which spread out from the ship and permeated everything afloat in the vicinity. This affected respiratory systems, caused vomiting if swallowed and often resulted in death even after rescue. The only good thing about it was it rarely caught fire on the seas surface.
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