Exercise Tiger Memorial, Slapton Sands
Near to Slapton Sands stands a Sherman Tank that was sunk in action and has now been recovered. The tank was set up as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the ill-fated 'Exercise Tiger'.
'Exercise Tiger' took place in late April 1944. It was intended to be a dress rehearsal for the D-Day landings. Slapton Sands was geographically similar to Utah Beach and as such was chosen as the site of practice landings.
A great number of men boarded LSTs (Landing Ship Tanks) which were loaded with tanks, jeeps, weapons and ammunition. All ships gathered in Lyme Bay and began their journey to Slapton Sands in the early hours of the morning (the distance between the two bays is roughly equivalent to the required crossing to Utah).
Unfortunately, a typographical error on the radio frequency was made which prevented the ships of being warned of enemy activity in the English Channel. As well as this, the British Destroyer HMS Scimitar, which had been intended as an escort for the LSTs, was kept in harbour for repairs.
As the LSTs made their trip to Slapton Sands, German E-Boats approached the convoy and began firing torpedoes. Without the Destroyer as protection, the LSTs had little defence against the onslaught. Two of the LSTs were sunk quickly. Others were hit and critically damaged. The remaining craft made zig-zag patterns back to shore.
When the E-Boats retreated, Captain John Doyle of LST 515 disobeyed orders and set out to rescue survivors. The freezing temperatures of the water meant hypothermia was quick to set in. Doyle's attempt resulted in the safe return of 134 men who would have surely perished otherwise.
Approximately 639 soldiers lost their lives that day. The survivors were forbidden to talk of the events under threat of court martial - as a practice for D-Day, the exercise had to remain secret.
At the 50th anniversary of the event in 1994, the survivors of 'Exercise Tiger' began to speak about the events of that tragic day.
Find out more information at www.exercisetigermemorial.co.uk