Fall of Tobruk: Lt Wilders LCT Z27

Hello, hoping someone can help with the following which happened on the day Tobruk fell (20/21 June 1942)

Lt Robert Wilders of W Docks Operating Coy RE described trying to escape Tobruk harbour in a vessel he names as LCT Z27. The LCT was hit, a fire broke out in the engine room, & they managed to get to shore near the wreck of the San Giorgio.
CO Major Finis (?) gathered a small group of walking wounded to proceed along the coast, but the group was soon captured. The wounded were taken to Tobruk hospital where one of them, a Corporal McCann from Hull, died.

A long shot, but can anyone verify if there was an LCT Z27 at Tobruk. Is he confusing this with one of the Z lighters? Also, has anyone heard of Corporal McCann? Wilders says he tried to trace the family in Hull with no success.

Any help much appreciated.

 

A puzzle indeed. The CWGC have only one Corporal listed as buried in Tobruk at the time, born in Glasgow though. Perhaps worth a look? Lance Corporal Roy McKeand | War Casualty Details 2205722 | CWGC

 

There definitely were LCTs employed at Tobruk, and at least one was lost when the town fell, but I cannot find the number 27.

See e.g. here: HMT Thorbryn and landing craft lost on 19th August 1941

All the best

Andreas

 

HMS LCT-119 (British Landing craft) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net
for info mentions shelling of a Lighter
Notes on event
At 08.44 hours on 15 June 1942 U-431 shelled a lighter north of Tobruk that drifted away after being hit. It is possible that the attacked vessel was HMS LCT-119, which was captured by the Germans on 21 June in the harbor of Tobruk.

 

I think you may have the right man there. Date fits. Thank you.

Wilders writes of the moment McCann was injured (20th June) & describes his incredible bravery:

"A violent explosion suddenly shook Z27. Further heavy shocks followed in quick succession as accurate enemy shells tore into the hull. The watertight compartments on the port side were, within seconds, a mass of twisted metal. The vessel then listed to port with water on deck covering approximately one third of the deck space. One shell had exploded in the engine room, igniting the petrol that Corporal McCann and the sergeant were using, and both were trapped in a mass of flames.
[after reaching shore at dusk] When I saw Corporal McCann, I was shocked. His face and legs were a deep blotchy blue in colour through being severely burned. How he endured the pain and had the fortitude to walk through the night, I will never know. I sat beside him, and he pulled from his tunic a photo of his family. We studied it together.
[after being captured] We were escorted to Tobruk hospital where, shortly after being admitted, Corporal McCann died."

 

I think the timing is off here. On 15 June Tobruk was not under attack.

Furthermore, U-431 reported a 'drifting motor barge' on 14 June 0658 hours (Berlin), and the next day reported to have sunk a motor barge of 100 GRT, with the cargo identified as 'MTB engine in crates'.

This would lead me to exclude this incident from consideration.

All the best

Andreas

 

A Zed Craft (usually operated by Royal Engineers) might easily have been called 'LCT' by a pongo .

For a picture of Z27 see HMLZ 42

Source is Pictures-Page 18 so probably not shot in Tobruk. The tower (minaret?) in the background might help identifying the location. If Z27 was damaged during the fall of Tobruk it might have been later salvaged and repaired though.

 

From an article on Z-Craft in the June 1965 issue of the RE Journal https://www.nzsappers.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1965-June.pdf (page 108):
THE WESTERN DESERT
During the siege of Tobruk a few Z-craft were sailed to Mersa Matruh for discharge of water, stores and vehicles, and after the relief two were moved up to Tobruk itself, but were unfortunately sunk by gun-fire while trying to escape when the port was later captured by Rommel.