On 14 October Gorgon fired forty-one rounds at the Middelkerke batteries before Vice Admiral Keyes took her and the destroyer Termagant closer to the coast. The purpose was to test reports that German resistance had weakened enough for the Royal Navy to ferry troops forward. The Tirpitz and riverside batteries quickly demonstrated that the coast remained strongly held. Gorgon turned away at maximum power and was reported to reach about 14 knots despite a 12-knot trial speed. German salvos straddled her and near misses caused splinter damage, validating the value of her armour for exposed reconnaissance. She returned to bombard the original target on 15 October, firing thirty rounds in twenty minutes in what the episode identifies as the last shots against the Belgian coast during the war.
Notable Point · 26:00-29:01
Reconnaissance under German coastal-battery fire
A close reconnaissance mission confirmed that German forces still held the Belgian coast strongly, even as Gorgon briefly exceeded its trial speed under fire.