SMS Gneisenau (1879)
The crew attempted to drop the starboard anchor, but it did not catch in the stony ground. "Gneisenau" was driven into the mole repeatedly, striking it with her stern twice before being turned and pushed bow-first on the starboard side, forcing her aground. A merchant ship attempted to come to the crew's aid, but they were unable to connect a line between the two ships before "Gneisenau" began to list 35 degrees. A boat from shore also attempted to rescue the crew, but it too was forced ashore in the heavy seas. Wave action quickly smashed "Gneisenau"s hull against the mole, and part of her crew attempted to find safety by climbing the rigging. The ship rolled over onto her side, and the surviving crewmen reached shore with a line. Forty-one men were killed in the accident, including Kretschmann and the ship's first officer. "Charlotte" and the British ironclad were sent to aid the wounded. Those killed in the sinking were buried in Málaga's cemetery, and the survivors returned to Germany aboard the HAPAG steamship on 2 January 1901.
Sturzkampfgeschwader 77
StG 77 began operations against Dunkirk after the fall of Calais. In the Battle of Dunkirk, Ju 87s bombed the port and attacked Allied shipping evacuating the encircled British and French armies. With StG 1 and 2 the Ju 87s inflicted significant losses on the Royal Navy and French Navy. Côte d'Azur, a 3,047-ton cross-channel steamer was sunk on 27 May followed by the paddle steamer "Crested Eagle" on 28 May. On 29 May the Royal Navy destroyer H.M.S."Grenade" was severely damaged by a Ju 87 attack within Dunkirk's harbour, and subsequently sank. The French destroyer "Mistral" was crippled by bomb damage the same day. "Jaguar" and "Verity" were badly damaged while the trawlers "Calvi" and "Polly Johnson" (363 and 290 tons) disintegrated under bombardment. The merchant ship "Fenella" (2,376 tons) was sunk having taken on 600 soldiers. The attacks brought the evacuation to a halt for a time. The rail ships "Lorina" and "Normannia" (1,564 and 1,567 tons) were sunk also.