4 September 1942 Part 1

4 September 1942 Channel Islands Sea Defence diary

Weather: wind from 270°, 2 metres per second.

During an inspection on Alderney the Sea Commander intended to inspect the Casquets lighthouse detachment. His boat commander was unfamiliar with the local waters, so two Alderney harbour-protection boats were sent ahead to transfer him near the Casquets and take him to the lighthouse. Shortly before he sailed, F.K. 08 reported by radio: “Casquets lighthouse unoccupied. Detachment disappeared. Radio installation destroyed.” He immediately sailed for the Casquets. The two returning boats were called alongside en route; F.K. 08’s commander confirmed that the men had disappeared and apparently been taken away by the British.

Questioning the commanders of F.K. 08 and 21, Sonderführer (boatswain) Brodersen and boatswain’s mate Witthaus, established that both boats had been near the Casquets about 13:15 to convey the Sea Commander and deliver provisions. Wind south-west force 4–5, sea 4, strong south-westerly swell, good visibility. A dinghy from F.K. 21 with two men and provisions tried to reach the landing place but could not unload in the heavy surf. No lighthouse personnel appeared. Signals with the foghorn, repeated calls and whistles brought no response. At 13:30 Brodersen and three men crossed in the dinghy and found the detachment missing.

The chevaux-de-frise blocking the courtyard entrances had been pushed aside. The radio had been destroyed and thrown down the stairs; the wooden secret-material locker had been forced open. Electric lights still burned in every room. All rooms had been searched. The emergency-provision store had been broken open and its contents scattered; the provision book indicated about two Zentner [approximately 100 kilograms] missing. Buildings, lighthouse and other furnishings were undamaged. An open box of one hundred hand grenades stood in a room.

The detachment’s two machine guns and seven rifles, with ammunition, were present and undamaged. No signs of fighting were found. A British woollen cap and a German torch, probably Obermaat Mund’s, lay among rocks north-west of the tower. Clear footprints were visible on the other side between the foghorn and the large water tanks.

The lighthouse detachment comprised Obermaat Mund; Funkgefreiter Reinecke; Funkgefreiter Krämer; Matrosenobergefreiter Kepp; Funkgefreiter Dembovi [surname as read]; Matrosengefreiter Abel; and Matrosengefreiter Klawitter. Their equipment was almost entirely present. Money and valuables had not been taken. Only Obermaat Mund’s service/pay book was missing.

Detailed examination identified the missing publications: the radio signal book for harbour-protection boats in the Commanding Admiral France’s area, M.Dv. 423/Fr., copy 302; the distribution plan for code-group tables for H.S.F. Frankreich, edition Anton, for M.Dv. 423/Fr., copy 302; and the star-signal table for outer lights. Code-group tables for H.S.F. Frankreich, edition Anton, numbers 9–30, were recovered. The station had held one copy each of the signal book, code-group tables and distribution plan.

The diary concludes that the detachment must have been taken completely by surprise. Given the terrain and available weapons, it considered that an enemy approaching only in dinghies could readily have been repelled with machine-gun and rifle fire. That afternoon, on the Sea Commander’s orders, three NCOs and eight men of Alderney Harbour Protection Group reoccupied the lighthouse and brought a new radio. At 22:15 on 4 September the whole installation was reported operational again.

Command responsibility: before the Channel Islands Sea Commander’s office was created, the Casquets and Alderney lighthouse detachments were subordinate to Harbour Commandant Cherbourg, while the other island lighthouses belonged to Jersey and Guernsey harbour commands. No posting order changed this arrangement when the new Sea Commander assumed duties, and the Normandy handover gave no relevant directions. It was therefore assumed that the organisation of Cherbourg and Alderney harbour commands would remain unchanged. Shortcomings in military supervision, especially at the Casquets, led the Channel Islands command to approach Sea Commander Normandy at the end of August. Transfer of responsibility was intended for mid-September; this was why the inspection had been arranged.

Communications: the Casquets radio station last answered the control station, Naval Signals Officer Cherbourg, at 00:20 on 3 September. It failed to answer at the next scheduled time, 01:20. Severe atmospheric interference affected traffic. On returning from Alderney, the Sea Commander examined the surviving rough-log pages in the Naval Signals Officer’s presence and confirmed the 00:20 entry. The log also recorded Cherbourg calling all lighthouses at 01:20. Guernsey Harbour Protection radio station did not hear the Casquets. No instruction for Guernsey to contact it was entered, although severe interference was recorded.

Guernsey’s traffic supervisor assumed that the control station had heard the Casquets and made no report to the Sea Commander or Channel Islands Naval Signals Officer. Frequent recent faults at the Casquets reinforced this assumption. Its radio had already been replaced twice within a week from the Channel Islands Sea Commander’s artillery-net equipment stock. Another replacement followed immediately after the raid became known.

T-1022 Roll 2422, PG 37996, scan 0499–0502.