Use of Cherbourg expected quickly
Limited utilization 24 hours after capture seen – Army repair units ready
SHAEF, England (AP) –
Cherbourg’s multiple harbors and elaborate port installations offered the Germans many chances for demolitions and obstructions, but it was doubtful whether their best efforts could prevent the Allies from swiftly exploiting this prize once it was securely in their hands.
Eyewitness reports have told of many fires and explosions in the dock area and apparently some attempt has been made to block the entrance to the basin where transatlantic liners once docked, but it will be a surprise if limited unloadings are not underway within 24 hours after the capture, and if a flood of men and supplies is not pouring in within ten days.
Moving in from the outside, ships come first to the outer roads of the great deep-water basin, about nine miles from east to west and two miles north to south. The basin is protected on three sides by land and on the north by some of the world’s greatest breakwaters. It is entered by two channels, each nearly 2,000 feet wide. It is regarded as impossible that the Germans can prevent the use of this anchorage, which could take many hundreds of big ships, even at low water.
Next is the inner basin, about four miles long and two miles wide, which is entered through a 1,500-foot gap in the breakwater. If the Germans have three or four big ships in the harbor – as is doubtful – they will probably try to close this channel.
Quai de France has best docks
Sticking out into the inner basin from the shore is a massive 1,800-foot quay, the Quai de France, on the east side of which are the best and deepest slip and docks, where four or five sizeable merchant ships could unload simultaneously. The entrance to this basin is about 600 feet wide, between the quay and the jetty, to the east, and there are reports that ships have already been sunk across it.
On the west side of the quay is a narrow channel, about 225 feet wide and 600 feet long, leading to the inner commercial basin and tidal drydock, which could presumably be blocked quite easily. Similarly, the entrance to the triple naval basins, about three-quarters of a mile to the west, is only about 275-300 feet across and might be blocked. The 25-foot tide offers a great advantage for swift clearing of any blocks, however, since it permits the cutting and blasting of obstacles at low tide.
Troops specially trained
The job of rehabilitation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said yesterday, will be greatly facilitated by a new unit, likely to play a prominent part in the war from now on. It is the Port Repair Ship Company, manned and operated entirely by Army engineers.
These men, dubbed “sailjers,” have been specially trained in this country for such jobs. Many of the Army divers got their experience working on the salvaging of USS Lafayette in New York, in conjunction with Navy divers. Others received their training at the Harbor Clearance School, run by the Corps of Engineers at Fort Screven, Georgia.
Among the first troops entering Cherbourg will be engineer port construction and port repair groups. These units will approach their objective, the harbor installations, by land. At the same time, engineer port repair shop companies, protected by our naval guns, will be using a water route to enter the harbor.