Maritime record TR 47 SW 20 - Emile Deschamps

Vertical Datum: LAT Quality of Depth: ES EMILE DESCHAMPS was mined in 1940. 10-JUN-1959 Drift sweeping Asdic sonar sweeping and echosounder after dispersal - clear 35ft, foul 36ft. A bank, varying from 34-35ft, exists to the south and within 50ft of wreck position 51 24 19.0N, 001 29 14.0E. 04-APR-1979 Examined in 51 24 20.4N, 001 29 21.0E. Least echosounder depth 10.4 in general depth 13m, with shoal of 11.9m close S. Scour 0.5m. Side scan sonar height 1.7m. Lying roughly E/W. Not a good sonar contact. 24-OCT-1986 Examined in 51 24 21.0N, 001 29 21.0E. Least echosounder depth 10.7 in general depth 11 to 13m. Scour depth 13m. Lying 300/120 degrees, approximately.

In 2025 the ship was considered for designation as a Scheduled Monument. From the report "The Emile Deschamps was a French minesweeper which foundered after striking a mine approximately 2 miles northeast of the North Foreland on the 4 June 1940. Originally constructed in 1922 by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, of Nantes, for the Compagnie Normande de Navigation a Vapeur (Normandy Steam Navigation Company), the Emile Deschamps was a general cargo and passenger coastal steamer, named after one of the company’s owners. The ship was constructed of
steel and powered by two reciprocating triple expansion engines with twin screws. It was 50.09 m long, with a beam of 7.14 m, 3.66 m draught, and a tonnage of 349 tons gross. The vessel was employed on the Caen to Le Havre route, carrying day trippers, including both French and British holidaymakers. Emile Deschamps was requisitioned as an auxiliary minesweeper at the outset of the Second World War in September 1939, assigned the pennant number AD 20, and attached to the Dunkirk sector under the command of Armand Joseph Albert Tellier. As the vessel was originally constructed for short port to port river and coastal operations, it was not well suited for operation further offshore and was therefore rarely put out to sea. On the evening of 3 June 1940 400-500 personnel were picked up. Among those on board were men who had manned the guns at Bastion 32, Dunkirk, 350 sailors, among them crew from the French torpedo-boat destroyer Jaguar, torpedoed at Dunkirk, land army officers, and around 30 civilian refugees. The ship departed Dunkirk at approximately 2200, and approached the English coastline at approximately 0500. At 0620 the Emile Deschamps was travelling with the Belgian Trawler Anna-Marguerite and the French minesweeper Ste-Elisabeth, when it struck a magnetic mine approximately 5 miles ENE of Foreness Point. The Emile Deschamps sunk rapidly with a loss of life estimated to be in the region of 300-400 lives. There were around 100 survivors, who were picked up by various ships, including the London fire tender Massey Shaw. The Emile Deschamps is thought to be the final vessel lost in Operation Dynamo, with some sources
citing it as the 243rd victim of approximately 870 ships which participated in the operation. MSDS Marine were commissioned by Historic England to undertake a desk-based assessment of available data on the wreck to inform this designation assessment. The wreck was visible in a 1m resolution survey from 2018, which allowed for a confirmation of the position, and characterisation of the wreck as an area of low lying debris, located in a dynamic environment on the edge of a small sandbank. Wrecks in this area are known to cover and uncover on a periodic basis as the sandbanks are highly mobile. A new multibeam bathymetry survey of the wreck site was commissioned, in order to determine the current
degree of exposure and level of survival. Data was collected by Spectrum Offshore Ltd during the 15 and 16 January 2025, and processed and interpreted by MSDS Marine. The survey covered an area approximately
425m by 425m centred on the UKHO position for the wreck. The surveyed area consisted predominantly of sandwaves running southeast to northwest. The survey identified the remains of a low lying and broken up
wreck. A number of features stand proud of the seabed, but it was not possible to identify them from the survey data. The main area of wreckage measures 53.1m by 15.5m and is orientated east to west. The bow likely lies to the west, although this is unconfirmed at this time. As the wreck is largely broken up, it was not possible to determine the original dimensions of the vessel. Slightly more wreckage is visible in the 2025 survey than in the 2018 survey, suggesting that the surrounding seabed is lowering as sand cover migrates away from the wreck site. Additional unidentified debris is located away from the main wreck site, extending to the NNW and SSE.

The survey has confirmed the presence of a metal wreck in the study area, and allowed for an assessment of its current condition, which appears to be poor. However a significant portion of the wreck may remain buried. The wreck of the Emile Deschamps is highly significant due to its historic association with the evacuation of Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo. However archaeological investigation indicates that the wreckage exposed on the surface of the seabed is largely broken up, although the extent of burial prohibits a full assessment of its current condition. " The decision was taken not to designate the site as a Scheduled Monument. (2)

<1> Hydrographic Office wreck index, Extracted 20-JAN-1993, Page Nos. N/a (Bibliographic reference). SKE6339.

<2> Historic England, Historic England Scheduling Status Assessment Report (Unpublished document). SKE58678.