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English was first introduced to Ireland in the Norman invasion . It was spoken by a few peasants and merchants brought over from England , and was largely replaced by Irish before the Tudor Conquest of Ireland . It was introduced as the official language with the Tudor and Cromwellian conquests . The Ulster plantations gave it a permanent foothold in Ulster , and it remained the official and upper @-@ class language elsewhere , the Irish @-@ speaking chieftains and nobility having been deposed . Language shift during the 19th century replaced Irish with English as the first language for a vast majority of the population .
Less than 10 % of the population of the Republic of Ireland today speak Irish regularly outside of the education system and 38 % of those over 15 years are classified as " Irish speakers " . In Northern Ireland , English is the de facto official language , but official recognition is afforded to Irish , including specific protective measures under Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . A lesser status ( including recognition under Part II of the Charter ) is given to Ulster Scots dialects , which are spoken by roughly 2 % of Northern Ireland residents , and also spoken by some in the Republic of Ireland . Since the 1960s with the increase in immigration , many more languages have been introduced , particularly deriving from Asia and Eastern Europe .
= = Culture = =
Ireland 's culture comprises elements of the culture of ancient peoples , later immigrant and broadcast cultural influences ( chiefly Gaelic culture , Anglicisation , Americanisation and aspects of broader European culture ) . In broad terms , Ireland is regarded as one of the Celtic nations of Europe , alongside Scotland , Wales , Cornwall , Isle of Man and Brittany . This combination of cultural influences is visible in the intricate designs termed Irish interlace or Celtic knotwork . These can be seen in the ornamentation of medieval religious and secular works . The style is still popular today in jewellery and graphic art , as is the distinctive style of traditional Irish music and dance , and has become indicative of modern " Celtic " culture in general .
Religion has played a significant role in the cultural life of the island since ancient times ( and since the 17th century plantations , has been the focus of political identity and divisions on the island ) . Ireland 's pre @-@ Christian heritage fused with the Celtic Church following the missions of Saint Patrick in the 5th century . The Hiberno @-@ Scottish missions , begun by the Irish monk Saint Columba , spread the Irish vision of Christianity to pagan England and the Frankish Empire . These missions brought written language to an illiterate population of Europe during the Dark Ages that followed the fall of Rome , earning Ireland the sobriquet , " the island of saints and scholars " .
Since the 20th century the Irish pubs worldwide have become , especially those with a full range of cultural and gastronomic offerings , outposts of Irish culture .
The Republic of Ireland 's national theatre is the Abbey Theatre , which was founded in 1904 , and the national Irish @-@ language theatre is An <unk> , which was established in 1928 in Galway . Playwrights such as Seán O 'Casey , Brian Friel , Sebastian Barry , Conor McPherson and Billy Roche are internationally renowned .
= = = Arts = = =
Ireland has made a large contribution to world literature in all its branches , particularly in the English language . Poetry in Irish is among the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe , with the earliest examples dating from the 6th century . In English , Jonathan Swift , still often called the foremost satirist in the English language , was very popular in his day for works such as Gulliver 's Travels and A Modest Proposal , and Oscar Wilde is known most for his often quoted witticisms .
In the 20th century , Ireland produced four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature : George Bernard Shaw , William Butler Yeats , Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney . Although not a Nobel Prize winner , James Joyce is widely considered to be one of the most significant writers of the 20th century . Joyce 's 1922 novel Ulysses is considered one of the most important works of Modernist literature and his life is celebrated annually on 16 June in Dublin as " Bloomsday " . Modern Irish literature is often connected with its rural heritage through writers such as John <unk> and poets such as Seamus Heaney .
Music has been in evidence in Ireland since prehistoric times . Although in the early Middle Ages the church was " quite unlike its counterpart in continental Europe " , there was considerable interchange between monastic settlements in Ireland and the rest of Europe that contributed to what is known as Gregorian chant . Outside religious establishments , musical genres in early Gaelic Ireland are referred to as a triad of weeping music ( <unk> ) , laughing music ( <unk> ) and sleeping music ( <unk> ) . Vocal and instrumental music ( e.g. for the harp , pipes , and various string instruments ) was transmitted orally , but the Irish harp , in particular , was of such significance that it became Ireland 's national symbol . Classical music following European models first developed in urban areas , in establishments of Anglo @-@ Irish rule such as Dublin Castle , St Patrick 's Cathedral and Christ Church as well as the country houses of the Anglo @-@ Irish ascendancy , with the first performance of Handel 's Messiah ( 1742 ) being among the highlights of the baroque era . In the 19th century , public concerts provided access to classical music to all classes of society . Yet , for political and financial reasons Ireland has been too small to provide a living to many musicians , so the names of the better @-@ known Irish composers of this time belong to emigrants .
Irish traditional music and dance has seen a surge in popularity and global coverage since the 1960s . In the middle years of the 20th century , as Irish society was modernising , traditional music had fallen out of favour , especially in urban areas . However during the 1960s , there was a revival of interest in Irish traditional music led by groups such as The Dubliners , The Chieftains , The Wolfe Tones , the Clancy Brothers , Sweeney 's Men and individuals like Seán Ó Riada and Christy Moore . Groups and musicians including Horslips , Van Morrison and Thin Lizzy incorporated elements of Irish traditional music into contemporary rock music and , during the 1970s and 1980s , the distinction between traditional and rock musicians became blurred , with many individuals regularly crossing over between these styles of playing . This trend can be seen more recently in the work of artists like Enya , The Saw Doctors , The Corrs , Sinéad O 'Connor , Clannad , The Cranberries and The Pogues among others . Since then there have been a number of stylistic fusions including folk metal and others , while some contemporary music groups stick closer to a " traditional " sound .
The earliest known Irish graphic art and sculpture are Neolithic carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and is traced through Bronze age artefacts and the religious carvings and illuminated manuscripts of the medieval period . During the course of the 19th and 20th centuries , a strong tradition of painting emerged , including such figures as John Butler Yeats , William Orpen , Jack Yeats and Louis le Brocquy . Contemporary Irish visual artists of note include Sean Scully , Kevin <unk> , and Alice Maher .
= = = Science = = =
The Irish philosopher and theologian Johannes Scotus Eriugena was considered one of the leading intellectuals of his early Middle Ages . Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton , an Irish explorer , was one of the principal figures of Antarctic exploration . He , along with his expedition , made the first ascent of Mount Erebus and the discovery of the approximate location of the South Magnetic Pole . Robert Boyle was a 17th @-@ century natural philosopher , chemist , physicist , inventor and early gentleman scientist . He is largely regarded one of the founders of modern chemistry and is best known for the formulation of Boyle 's law .
19th century physicist , John Tyndall , discovered the Tyndall effect . Father Nicholas Joseph Callan , Professor of Natural Philosophy in Maynooth College , is best known for his invention of the induction coil , transformer and he discovered an early method of <unk> in the 19th century .
Other notable Irish physicists include Ernest Walton , winner of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics . With Sir John Douglas Cockcroft , he was the first to split the nucleus of the atom by artificial means and made contributions to the development of a new theory of wave equation . William Thomson , or Lord Kelvin , is the person whom the absolute temperature unit , the Kelvin , is named after . Sir Joseph Larmor , a physicist and mathematician , made innovations in the understanding of electricity , dynamics , thermodynamics and the electron theory of matter . His most influential work was Aether and Matter , a book on theoretical physics published in 1900 .
George Johnstone Stoney introduced the term electron in 1891 . John Stewart Bell was the originator of Bell 's Theorem and a paper concerning the discovery of the Bell @-@ <unk> @-@ Adler anomaly and was nominated for a Nobel prize . Notable mathematicians include Sir William Rowan Hamilton , famous for work in classical mechanics and the invention of quaternions . Francis Ysidro Edgeworth 's contribution of the Edgeworth Box remains influential in neo @-@ classical microeconomic theory to this day ; while Richard Cantillon inspired Adam Smith , among others . John B. Cosgrave was a specialist in number theory and discovered a 2000 @-@ digit prime number in 1999 and a record composite Fermat number in 2003 . John Lighton Synge made progress in different fields of science , including mechanics and geometrical methods in general relativity . He had mathematician John Nash as one of his students .
Ireland has nine universities , seven in the Republic of Ireland and two in Northern Ireland , including Trinity College , Dublin and the University College Dublin , as well as numerous third @-@ level colleges and institutes and a branch of the Open University , the Open University in Ireland .
= = = Sports = = =
The island of Ireland fields a single international team in most sports . One notable exception to this is association football , although both associations continued to field international teams under the name " Ireland " until the 1950s . An all @-@ Ireland club competition for soccer , the Setanta Cup , was created in 2005 .
Gaelic football is the most popular sport in Ireland in terms of match attendance and community involvement , with about 2 @,@ 600 clubs on the island . In 2003 it represented 34 % of total sports attendances at events in Ireland and abroad , followed by hurling at 23 % , soccer at 16 % and rugby at 8 % and the All @-@ Ireland Football Final is the most watched event in the sporting calendar . Soccer is the most widely played team game on the island , and the most popular in Northern Ireland . Swimming , golf , aerobics , soccer , cycling , Gaelic football and billiards / snooker are the sporting activities with the highest levels of playing participation . The sport is also the most notable exception where the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland field separate international teams . Northern Ireland has produced two World Snooker Champions .
Many other sports are also played and followed , including basketball , boxing , cricket , fishing , greyhound racing , handball , hockey , horse racing , motor sport , show jumping and tennis .
= = = = Field sports = = = =
Gaelic football , hurling and handball are the best @-@ known of the Irish traditional sports , collectively known as Gaelic games . Gaelic games are governed by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA ) , with the exception of ladies ' Gaelic football and <unk> ( women 's variant of hurling ) , which are governed by separate organisations . The headquarters of the GAA ( and the main stadium ) is located at the 82 @,@ 500 capacity Croke Park in north Dublin . Many major GAA games are played there , including the semi @-@ finals and finals of the All @-@ Ireland Senior Football Championship and All @-@ Ireland Senior Hurling Championship . During the redevelopment of the Lansdowne Road stadium in 2007 – 10 , international rugby and soccer were played there . All GAA players , even at the highest level , are amateurs , receiving no wages , although they are permitted to receive a limited amount of sport @-@ related income from commercial sponsorship .
The Irish Football Association ( IFA ) was originally the governing body for soccer across the island . The game has been played in an organised fashion in Ireland since the 1870s , with Cliftonville F.C. in Belfast being Ireland 's oldest club . It was most popular , especially in its first decades , around Belfast and in Ulster . However , some clubs based outside Belfast thought that the IFA largely favoured Ulster @-@ based clubs in such matters as selection for the national team . In 1921 , following an incident in which , despite an earlier promise , the IFA moved an Irish Cup semi @-@ final replay from Dublin to Belfast , Dublin @-@ based clubs broke away to form the Football Association of the Irish Free State . Today the southern association is known as the Football Association of Ireland ( FAI ) . Despite being initially blacklisted by the Home Nations ' associations , the FAI was recognised by FIFA in 1923 and organised its first international fixture in 1926 ( against Italy ) . However , both the IFA and FAI continued to select their teams from the whole of Ireland , with some players earning international caps for matches with both teams . Both also referred to their respective teams as Ireland .
In 1950 , FIFA directed the associations only to select players from within their respective territories and , in 1953 , directed that the FAI 's team be known only as " Republic of Ireland " and that the IFA 's team be known as " Northern Ireland " ( with certain exceptions ) . Northern Ireland qualified for the World Cup finals in 1958 ( reaching the quarter @-@ finals ) , 1982 and 1986 . The Republic qualified for the World Cup finals in 1990 ( reaching the quarter @-@ finals ) , 1994 , 2002 and the European Championships in 1988 and 2012 . Across Ireland , there is significant interest in the English and , to a lesser extent , Scottish soccer leagues .
Unlike soccer , Ireland continues to field a single national rugby team and a single association , the Irish Rugby Football Union ( IRFU ) , governs the sport across the island . The Irish rugby team have played in every Rugby World Cup , making the quarter @-@ finals in four of them . Ireland also hosted games during the 1991 and the 1999 Rugby World Cups ( including a quarter @-@ final ) . There are four professional Irish teams ; all four play in the Magners League ( now called the <unk> Pro12 ) and at least three compete for the Heineken Cup . Irish rugby has become increasingly competitive at both the international and provincial levels since the sport went professional in 1994 . During that time , Ulster ( 1999 ) , Munster ( 2006 and 2008 ) and Leinster ( 2009 , 2011 and 2012 ) have won the Heineken Cup . In addition to this , the Irish International side has had increased success in the Six Nations Championship against the other European elite sides . This success , including Triple Crowns in 2004 , 2006 and 2007 , culminated with a clean sweep of victories , known as a Grand Slam , in 2009 .
= = = = Other sports = = = =
Horse racing and greyhound racing are both popular in Ireland . There are frequent horse race meetings and greyhound stadiums are well @-@ attended . The island is noted for the breeding and training of race horses and is also a large exporter of racing dogs . The horse racing sector is largely concentrated in the County Kildare .
Irish athletics has seen a heightened success rate since the year 2000 , with Sonia O 'Sullivan winning two medals at 5 @,@ 000 metres on the track ; gold at the 1995 World Championships and silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics . Gillian O 'Sullivan won silver in the <unk> walk at the 2003 World Championships , while sprint hurdler Derval O 'Rourke won gold at the 2006 World Indoor Championship in Moscow . Olive <unk> won a silver medal in the <unk> walk in the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2009 .
Ireland has won more medals in boxing than in any other Olympic sport . Boxing is governed by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association . Michael Carruth won a gold medal and Wayne McCullough won a silver medal in the Barcelona Olympic Games and in 2008 Kenneth Egan won a silver medal in the Beijing Games . Paddy Barnes secured bronze in those games and gold in the 2010 European Amateur Boxing Championships ( where Ireland came 2nd in the overall medal table ) and 2010 Commonwealth Games . Katie Taylor has won gold in every European and World championship since 2005 . In August 2012 at the Olympic Games in London Katie Taylor created history by becoming the first Irish woman to win a gold medal in boxing in the 60 kg lightweight .
Golf is very popular and golf tourism is a major industry attracting more than 240 @,@ 000 golfing visitors annually . The 2006 Ryder Cup was held at The K Club in County Kildare . Pádraig Harrington became the first Irishman since Fred Daly in 1947 to win the British Open at Carnoustie in July 2007 . He successfully defended his title in July 2008 before going on to win the PGA Championship in August . Harrington became the first European to win the PGA Championship in 78 years and was the first winner from Ireland . Three golfers from Northern Ireland have been particularly successful . In 2010 , Graeme McDowell became the first Irish golfer to win the U.S. Open , and the first European to win that tournament since 1970 . Rory McIlroy , at the age of 22 , won the 2011 U.S. Open , while Darren Clarke 's latest victory was the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George 's . In August 2012 , McIlroy won his 2nd major championship by winning the <unk> Championship by a record margin of 8 shots .
= = = = Recreation = = = =
The west coast of Ireland , <unk> and Donegal Bay in particular , have popular surfing beaches , being fully exposed to the Atlantic Ocean . Donegal Bay is shaped like a funnel and catches west / south @-@ west Atlantic winds , creating good surf , especially in winter . Since just before the year 2010 , <unk> has hosted European championship surfing . Scuba diving is increasingly popular in Ireland with clear waters and large populations of sea life , particularly along the western seaboard . There are also many shipwrecks along the coast of Ireland , with some of the best wreck dives being in Malin Head and off the County Cork coast .
With thousands of lakes , over 14 @,@ 000 kilometres ( 8 @,@ 700 mi ) of fish bearing rivers and over 3 @,@ 700 kilometres ( 2 @,@ 300 mi ) of coastline , Ireland is a popular angling destination . The temperate Irish climate is suited to sport angling . While salmon and trout fishing remain popular with anglers , salmon fishing in particular received a boost in 2006 with the closing of the salmon <unk> fishery . Coarse fishing continues to increase its profile . Sea angling is developed with many beaches mapped and signposted , and the range of sea angling species is around 80 .
= = = Food and drink = = =
Food and cuisine in Ireland takes its influence from the crops grown and animals farmed in the island 's temperate climate and from the social and political circumstances of Irish history . For example , whilst from the Middle Ages until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century the dominant feature of the Irish economy was the herding of cattle , the number of cattle a person owned was equated to their social standing . Thus herders would avoid slaughtering a milk @-@ producing cow .
For this reason , pork and white meat were more common than beef and thick fatty strips of salted bacon ( or <unk> ) and the eating of salted butter ( i.e. a dairy product rather than beef itself ) have been a central feature of the diet in Ireland since the Middle Ages . The practice of bleeding cattle and mixing the blood with milk and butter ( not unlike the practice of the Maasai ) was common and black pudding , made from blood , grain ( usually barley ) and seasoning , remains a breakfast staple in Ireland . All of these influences can be seen today in the phenomenon of the " breakfast roll " .
The introduction of the potato in the second half of the 16th century heavily influenced cuisine thereafter . Great poverty encouraged a subsistence approach to food and by the mid @-@ 19th century the vast majority of the population sufficed with a diet of potatoes and milk . A typical family , consisting of a man , a woman and four children , would eat 18 stone ( 110 kg ) of potatoes a week . Consequently , dishes that are considered as national dishes represent a fundamental <unk> to cooking , such as the Irish stew , bacon and cabbage , <unk> , a type of potato pancake , or <unk> , a dish of mashed potatoes and kale or cabbage .
Since the last quarter of the 20th century , with a re @-@ emergence of wealth in Ireland , a " New Irish Cuisine " based on traditional ingredients incorporating international influences has emerged . This cuisine is based on fresh vegetables , fish ( especially salmon , trout , oysters , mussels and other shellfish ) , as well as traditional soda breads and the wide range of hand @-@ made cheeses that are now being produced across the country . The potato remains however a fundamental feature of this cuisine and the Irish remain the highest per capita consumers of potatoes in Europe . An example of this new cuisine is " Dublin Lawyer " : lobster cooked in whiskey and cream . Traditional regional foods can be found throughout the country , for example coddle in Dublin or <unk> in Cork , both a type of sausage , or <unk> , a doughy white bread particular to Waterford .
Ireland once dominated the world 's market for whiskey , producing 90 % of the world 's whiskey at the start of the 20th century . However , as a consequence of bootleggers during the prohibition in the United States ( who sold poor @-@ quality whiskey bearing Irish @-@ sounding names thus eroding the pre @-@ prohibition popularity for Irish brands ) and tariffs on Irish whiskey across the British Empire during the Anglo @-@ Irish Trade War of the 1930s , sales of Irish whiskey worldwide fell to a mere 2 % by the mid @-@ 20th century . In 1953 , an Irish government survey , found that 50 per cent of whiskey drinkers in the United States had never heard of Irish whiskey .
Irish whiskey , as researched in 2009 by the CNBC American broadcaster , remains popular domestically and has grown in international sales steadily over a few decades . Typically CNBC states Irish whiskey is not as smoky as a Scotch whisky , but not as sweet as American or Canadian whiskies . Whiskey forms the basis of traditional cream <unk> , such as Baileys , and the " Irish coffee " ( a cocktail of coffee and whiskey reputedly invented at <unk> flying @-@ boat station ) is probably the best @-@ known Irish cocktail .
Stout , a kind of porter beer , particularly Guinness , is typically associated with Ireland , although historically it was more closely associated with London . Porter remains very popular , although it has lost sales since the mid @-@ 20th century to lager . Cider , particularly Magners ( marketed in the Republic of Ireland as <unk> ) , is also a popular drink . Red lemonade , a soft @-@ drink , is consumed on its own and as a mixer , particularly with whiskey .
= St Nazaire Raid =
The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German @-@ occupied France during the Second World War . The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters on 28 March 1942 . St Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs , such as the Tirpitz , to return to home waters via either the English Channel or the <unk> gap , both of which were heavily defended by British units including the Royal Navy 's Home Fleet , rather than having a haven available on the Atlantic coast .
The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown , accompanied by 18 smaller craft , crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and was rammed into the Normandie dock gates . The ship had been packed with delayed @-@ action explosives , well hidden within a steel and concrete case , that detonated later that day , putting the dock out of service for the remainder of the war and up to five years after .
A force of commandos landed to destroy machinery and other structures . Heavy German gunfire sank , set ablaze or immobilised all the small craft intended to transport the commandos back to England ; the commandos had to fight their way out through the town to try to escape overland . They were forced to surrender when their ammunition was expended and they were surrounded .
After the raid 228 men of the force of 611 returned to Britain ; 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war . German casualties were over 360 dead , some killed after the raid when Campbeltown exploded . To recognise their bravery , 89 decorations were awarded to members of the raiding party , including five Victoria Crosses . After the war , St Nazaire was one of 38 battle honours awarded to the Commandos ; the operation has since become known as The Greatest Raid of All within military circles .
= = Background = =
St Nazaire is on the north bank of the Loire 400 km ( 250 miles ) from the nearest British port . In 1942 , it had a population of 50 @,@ 000 . The St Nazaire port has an outer harbour known as the Avant Port , formed by two piers jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean . This leads to two lock gates before the Bassin de St Nazaire . These gates control the water level in the basin so that it is not affected by the tide .
Beyond the basin is the larger inner dock called the Bassin de Penhoët , which can accommodate ships up to 10 @,@ 000 tons . There is also an old entrance to the Bassin de St Nazaire located southwest of the Normandie dry dock . Built to house the ocean liner SS Normandie , this dock was the largest dry dock in the world when it was completed in 1932 . The " Old Mole " jetty juts into the Loire halfway between the southern pier of the Avant Port and the old entrance into the basin .
On 24 May 1941 , the Battle of the Denmark Strait was fought between the German ships Bismarck and Prinz Eugen and the British ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Hood . Hood was sunk and the damaged Prince of Wales was forced to retire . Bismarck , also damaged , ordered her consort to proceed independently while she headed for the French port of St Nazaire , which was the only port on the Atlantic coast with a dry dock able to accommodate a ship of her size . She was intercepted by the British and sunk en route .
Britain 's Naval Intelligence Division first proposed a commando raid on the dock in late 1941 . When the German battleship Tirpitz was declared operational in January 1942 , the Royal Navy ( RN ) and Royal Air Force ( RAF ) were already drawing up plans to attack her . Planners from Combined Operations Headquarters were looking at potential scenarios if Tirpitz escaped the naval blockade and reached the Atlantic . They decided the only port able to accommodate her was St Nazaire , especially if , like the Bismarck , she was damaged en route and needed repairs . They came to the conclusion that if the dock at St Nazaire were unavailable the Germans were unlikely to risk sending Tirpitz into the Atlantic .
Combined Operations examined a number of options while planning the destruction of the dock . At this stage of the war the British government still tried to avoid civilian casualties . This ruled out a bombing attack by the RAF , which at the time did not possess the accuracy needed to destroy the dock without serious loss of civilian life .
The Special Operations Executive were approached to see if its agents could destroy the dock gates . They decided that the mission was beyond their capabilities because the weight of explosives required would have needed too many agents to carry them . The Royal Navy was also unable to mount an operation , as St Nazaire is 8 km ( 5 miles ) up the Loire estuary . Any naval ships large enough to cause sufficient damage would be detected well before they were within range .
The planners then examined whether a commando force was feasible to accomplish the task . An unusually high spring tide was due in March 1942 which would allow a light ship to pass over the sand banks in the estuary and approach the docks , bypassing the heavily defended dredged channel . The approach was too shallow for an infantry landing ship , but the planners believed if a destroyer could be lightened it might have a draft shallow enough to enable it to get through .
= = Plan = =
The purpose of the raid was to destroy three objectives : the Normandie dock , the old gates into the Bassin de St Nazaire together with the water pumping machinery and other installations , and any U @-@ boats or other shipping in the area . The initial Combined Operations plan required two specially lightened destroyers to carry out the raid . The first would be packed with explosives and rammed into the dock gates .
Commandos on board would then disembark and use demolition charges to destroy nearby dock installations , searchlights and gun emplacements . The destroyer would then be blown up , and the second ship would come in and evacuate the ship 's crew and the commandos . At the same time the RAF would carry out a number of diversionary air raids in the area .
When the plan was presented to the Admiralty they refused to support it . The certain loss of one or both destroyers to eliminate the dry dock was out of the question . They suggested they could provide an old Free French destroyer , the <unk> , and a flotilla of small motor launches to transport the commandos and evacuate them afterwards .
Approval for the mission , codenamed Operation Chariot , was given on 3 March 1942 . Using a French ship would involve using the Free French forces and increase the number of people aware of the raid . Consequently , it was decided the navy would have to provide a ship of their own . The RAF complained that the raid would draw heavily on their resources ; the number of aircraft assigned by RAF Bomber Command was reduced time and again before the day of the raid . British Prime Minister Winston Churchill further complicated matters when he ordered that bombing should only take place if targets were clearly identified .
Combined Operations Headquarters worked closely with several intelligence organisations to plan the raid . The Naval Intelligence Division compiled information from a variety of sources . A detailed plan of the town of St Nazaire was provided by the Secret Intelligence Service , and information on the coastal artillery nearby was sourced from the War Office 's Military Intelligence branch . Intelligence about the dock itself came from pre @-@ war technical journals .
The RN 's Operational Intelligence Centre selected the route and timing for the raid based on intelligence about the location of minefields and German recognition signals sourced from Enigma decrypts and knowledge of Luftwaffe patrols compiled by the Air Ministry 's Air Intelligence Branch . When all the plans had been pulled together and the timing worked out , the raid was expected to last no longer than two hours . The commandos and crew from Campbeltown would board the motor launches at the Old Mole jetty and then return to base .
= = Composition of the raiding force = =
The revised Combined Operations plan required one destroyer to ram the dock gates and a number of smaller craft to transport the Commandos . The Royal Navy would therefore provide the largest contingent for the raid , under the overall command of the senior naval officer , Commander Robert Ryder . The ship selected to ram into the dock gates was HMS Campbeltown , commanded by Lieutenant Commander Stephen Halden Beattie . Campbeltown was a First World War destroyer and had previously been the USS Buchanan in the United States Navy . She had come into RN service in 1940 as one of 50 destroyers transferred to the United Kingdom under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement .
Converting Campbeltown for the raid took ten days . She had to be lightened to raise her draught to get over the sand banks in the estuary . This was achieved by completely stripping all her internal compartments . The dockyard removed her three 4 inch ( 100 mm ) guns , torpedoes and depth charges from the deck and replaced the forward gun with a light quick – firing 12 pounder ( 3 " ) . Eight 20 mm Oerlikons were installed on mountings raised above deck level . The bridge and wheelhouse were given extra armour @-@ plate protection , and two rows of armour were fixed along the sides of the ship to protect the Commandos on the open deck .
Two of her four funnels were removed , and the forward two were cut at an angle to resemble those of a German destroyer . The bow was packed with 4 @.@ 5 tons of high explosives , which were set in concrete . It was decided that the explosive charge would be timed to detonate after the raiders had left the harbour . To prevent the Germans towing her away , the crew would open the ship 's seacocks before abandoning the ship . Should she become disabled or sunk before getting to the dock , four motor launches had been detailed to take off the crew and put the commandos ashore . The charge would be reset to explode after the last boat had left .
Other naval units involved were two Hunt class destroyers , HMS Tynedale ( <unk> ) and Atherstone ( <unk> ) , which would accompany the force to and from the French coast and remain out at sea during the raid . A Motor Gun Boat ( MGB 314 ) was the headquarters ship for the raid , with Commander Ryder and the commanding officer of the Commandos on board . A Motor Torpedo Boat ( MTB 74 ) , commanded by Sub @-@ Lieutenant Michael Wynn , had two objectives : If the outer Normandie dock gates were open , she had to torpedo the inner dock gates . If the gates were closed she would instead torpedo the gates at the old entrance into the St Nazaire basin .
To assist in transporting the Commandos , 12 motor launches ( ML ) were assigned from the 20th and 28th Motor Launch flotillas . These boats were re @-@ armed with two Oerlikon 20 mm guns mounted forward and aft to complement their twin Lewis guns . At the last minute another four MLs were assigned from the 7th Motor Launch flotilla ( see Footnotes for flotilla details ) . These four boats were also armed with two torpedoes each . Instead of transporting the Commandos , these boats were to engage any German shipping found in the estuary . All the MLs had a 500 @-@ gallon auxiliary fuel tank fixed to the upper deck to increase their range . The S class submarine HMS Sturgeon would leave before the rest of the convoy and be in position to act as a navigational beacon to guide the convoy into the Loire estuary .
The man selected to lead the Commando force was Lieutenant Colonel Charles Newman ; his No. 2 Commando would provide the largest Commandos contingent , 173 men , for the raid . The Special Service Brigade headquarters used the raid to provide experience for their other units and 92 men were drawn from Nos 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , and 12 Commandos .
The Commandos were divided into three groups ; One and Two would travel in the MLs , while Three would be in Campbeltown . Under the command of Captain <unk> , Group One had the objectives of securing the Old Mole and eliminating the anti @-@ aircraft gun positions around the southern quays . They were then to move into the old town and blow up the power station , bridges and locks for the new entrance into the basin from the Avant port . The capture of the mole was a major objective , as it was to be the embarkation point for the evacuation after the mission .
Group Two , under the command of Captain Burn , would land at the old entrance to the St Nazaire basin . Their objectives were to destroy the anti @-@ aircraft positions in the area and the German headquarters , to blow up the locks and bridges at the old entrance into the basin and then to guard against a counter @-@ attack from the submarine base . Group Three was under the command of Major William ' Bill ' Copland , who was also the Commandos ' second in command . They were to secure the immediate area around Campbeltown , destroy the dock 's water @-@ pumping and gate @-@ opening machinery and the nearby underground fuel tanks . All three groups were subdivided into assault , demolition and protection teams . The assault teams would clear the way for the other two . The demolition teams carrying the explosive charges only had sidearms for self @-@ defence ; the protection teams , armed with Thompson submachine guns , were to defend them while they completed their tasks .
The Commandos were aided in their planning for the operation by Captain Bill Pritchard of the Royal Engineers , who had pre @-@ war experience as an apprentice in the Great Western Railway dockyards and whose father was the dock master of Cardiff Docks . In 1940 while part of the British Expeditionary Force in France , his duties had included determining how to disable the French dockyards if they were captured . One of the dockyards he had studied was St Nazaire , and he had submitted a report detailing how to put the dock out of action .