Officers and ships carried experience from the 1940 fighting at Namsos and Narvik into Operation Claymore, the first commando raid of the Second World War. Queen Emma and Princess Beatrix acted as landing ships, carrying Landing Craft Assault and Landing Craft Mechanized vessels. Four Tribal-class destroyers and HMS Legion provided surface firepower. Legion's all-4-inch armament suited air defense, and most of the Tribals had replaced their X mounting with a twin 4-inch mounting by this point. Limited German resistance on the Lofoten Islands collapsed quickly. The strangest encounter came when a German officer forced the captain of an unarmed coastal ferry to resist, so HMS Bedouin sank the ferry and rescued the survivors, including both men. Claymore joined amphibious lift, destroyer firepower, and commandos in one compact naval raid.
Chapter · 11:35-13:52
Operation Claymore's naval raid force
Operation Claymore combined landing ships, assault and mechanized landing craft, destroyers, and Norway Campaign experience for the first commando raid of the war.