By Jared Samuelson
Ever hear the story about the time the Canadian Navy conducted a maritime raid to recover Canadian Army equipment, a.k.a Operation Megaphone? We’ve got it for you! Former Chief of the Maritime Staff VADM Drew Robertson (ret.), CAPT Ian Parker (ret.), and CAPT Norm Jolin (ret.) join me (@jwsc03) to recount the taking of the Soviet-built cargo vessel GTS Katie and the recovery of a Canadian Army battlegroup’s worth of equipment.
Sea Control 174 – Operation Megaphone
Links
Photos from the Collection of Capt. Norm Jolin (ret.)
Jared Samuelson is the Senior Producer of the Sea Control Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].
As one of the 3 soldiers that spent the entire trip on the GTS Katie, that audio clip brought back some interesting memories..
Quick point: One thing that was not covered during this broadcast is “how all of this started?”. Simple answer: When Katie was in Thessaloniki being loaded with the vehicles and sea cans, the crew that did the lashing of the equipment did it in an incompetent/ dangerous manner. It took ~7days to have an insurer from London to asses the work (had to be redone) and after that assessment was complete, redo the lashing of all 600 vehicles/ trailers etc. The main question became: who would pay for that extra week spent in Thessaloniki harbour… from that point, everything went downhill.
This is great background, thanks! I’m glad you found the podcast and I wish I’d had the chance to talk to you for the episode!
As I was writing my release message of the CAF,I thought about including an anecdote on my 50 days spent on that ship. Did a quick search and found your podcast. For me it was interesting to learn about this saga from the HQ’s perspective, including from the Capt(N) of the Athabaskan. Who knows, might write a book (not haha). I thank you for this initiative … By the way, I admit that I was flabbergasted to hear the voice of Capt(N) Ian Parker; 33 years ago, after training was completed, he was my first Commanding Officer (HMCS Fraser)…. I feel old haha. cheers!