Destroyers supported Claymore's dispersed landing groups

Each landing group received destroyer support, with HMS Somali moving between ports as the naval and military command post while both force commanders were embarked. Tribal-class 4.7-inch guns supplied the weight of close fire support, and HMS Legion added general-purpose 4-inch guns. At one point, about three salvos from a Tribal, with 4-inch fire joining the 4.7-inch battery, silenced a single mortar while the ships observed the restrictions on civilian damage. The ferries' heavy davits mattered tactically because an LCM could carry roughly four times the tonnage of an assault craft. Launching those mechanised craft with the first wave let dispersed Commandos take essential equipment ashore without waiting for a slower crane-and-loading cycle.