King George V's War Museum
A collection displayed at Windsor Castle by George V following the First World War
Voice tube from HMS Vindictive
1897 - 1918RCIN 69426
On 23 April 1918 the British enacted a raid on the Zeebrugge mole, a long concrete harbour wall which reached into the sea from the Belgian town. The intention of the raid was to block the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge, which the Germans were using as submarine bases. The cruiser HMS Vindictive and the repurposed Mersey ferries Daffodil and Iris II were deployed to land Royal Marines on the mole so that they could distract the Gremans and destroy shore batteries. Meanwhile, three old British cruisers filled with concrete were to be scuttled at the narrow entrance of the Zeebrugge harbour.
This piece of the voice tube of HMS Vindictive has damage, which may have been inflicted during this raid, including what looks like bullet damage.