A COMMEMORATION service will be held in Ramsgate tomorrow (Saturday) to mark the 70th anniversary of the Channel Dash, in which six Swordfish torpedo bombers took on the pride of the German fleet and the might of the Luftwaffe.

All six of the long-outdated biplanes were shot to pieces and only five of the 18 airmen survived.

Led by a charismatic Irishman, Lieutenant-Commander Eugene Esmonde, the Swordfish of squadron 825 Fleet Air Arm took off from Manston at exactly 12.25pm on February 12, 1942, after the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, together with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, were seen heading into the Straits of Dover.

The commemoration service, organised by the Channel Dash Memorial Trust, will begin at exactly same time.

It will be held at the 825 Squadron Memorial at Ramsgate Royal Harbour.

At the same time, the Royal Navy's fast patrol vessel, HMS Trumpeter, and a pilot boat from Estuary Services will head out to sea from Ramsgate to lay wreaths at exactly 12.45pm, the time when the last of the Channel Dash aircraft is reported to have sunk beneath the waves.

On Sunday – the 70th anniversary of the Channel Dash – another service will take place at St Mary-in-Castro Church, Dover Castle, to commemorate all the service personnel who took part in the wider operation to try to halt the German ships.

Called Operation Fuller, this involved RAF fighters and bombers, Royal Naval destroyers and artillery. They were unsuccessful and the ships got through to home waters.

On Saturday evening, a dinner will be held at the Officers' Mess, Manston. Outside the mess, full-size replicas of Spitfire and Messerschmitt aircraft will be on display.

The aircraft come from the War and Peace Show collection, owned by Rex Cadman, of Ash, near Sandwich.

The replicas are reminders of British and German aircraft involved in Operation Fuller, in which the three German ships were defended by more than 250 fighters, as well as a formidable line of destroyers and other craft.

The dinner, to be attended by Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Admiral the Lord Boyce, will mark another historic occasion.

On the day before the Channel Dash, Eugene Esmonde – who died in the raid – had been to Buckingham Palace, where he was presented with the Distinguished Service Order by King George VI. This was in recognition of his role in the sinking of the German pocket battleship Bismarck, crippled by Swordfish torpedo bombers so that British ships could catch and sink it.

On his return to Manston he was given a celebration dinner by brother officers. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his courage in leading the attack.

Guests at the dinner include: the chairman of the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Sir Ian Garnett, who previously served as Flag Officer Naval Air Command; Brigadier Simon Wolsey, Commander 2 (South East) Brigade; Wing Commander Jerry Wilson, commandant of the Defence Fire Training Centre, Manston; and the mayors of the three Thanet boroughs.

Peter Nixon, chairman of the Channel Dash Association, which is committed to preserving the memory of the men of 825 Squadron, said: "This year's ceremonies are especially sad as the last of the Channel Dash heroes, Edgar Lee, died only last year."

Mr Nixon, from Broadstairs, added: "This makes it even more important that we do all we can to preserve the memory of Eugene Esmonde and all those who gave their lives that day.

"They knew when they took off the chances of their survival were exceedingly slim, and so it proved. Courage like that can never be surpassed and should never be forgotten."