The Sesame (Wreck)

 shipwreck, invisible

The German 5th Flotilla of E-boats, based at Le Havre, was a crack outfit. Its high-speed sweeps of the Channel from the very beginning of the occupation of the French naval base in 1940 brought much grief to Allied shipping.

Now, in the dark of the earliest hours of 11 June 1944, the Le Havre E-boats were on the rampage again, this time hunting for vessels bringing in replacements and supplies for the US troops pushing inland from the D-Day beachhead of Omaha.

HMS Sesame, a small, newly-built Admiralty tug and the latest in the Assurance class, just happened to get in the way. She was there with other tugs to seek out and assist any ships in trouble off the Normandy beaches. But she had no time to tow anyone, nor to open up her 1350hp engines, which could push her 157ft length along at 13 knots.

On deck she carried a single 3in anti-aircraft gun, backed by a 20mm Bofors and two machine-guns. She had no time to fire any of the guns at the long dark shapes which roared at her and past her. In seconds the E-boats were gone into the night, with only long white trails of froth to mark their passing. Except, that is, for a torpedo which had struck Sesame in the starboard side amidships, and left a gaping hole.

Though she sank within five minutes, another older Assurance class tug on Normandy assistance patrol, HMS Stormking, managed to pick up some survivors from her crew of 31. Sesame was the fifth and last of Assurance-class tugs sunk during the war.