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White Wing 4.0%
Celebrating one of the famous Dunkirk little ships built on the banks of the Arun at Littlehampton, White Wing is a medium ale with a crisp refreshing copper colour. Slightly bitter with lovely fruity hop aftertaste it is very drinkable and refreshing with out sour or sharp undertones.
Build on the banks of the Arun the White Wing was built by Osbourn Boat Yard in Littlehampton and was a motor yachts built before and through the Second World War. It was a teak on oak construction and was approximately 28 feet in length and with 2 inboard Morris Navigator engines the White Wing was capable of 12 knots.
During the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940 (named operation dynamo) the White Wing was one of many little boats that helped the solders escape the grasp of Nazi Germany.
The early part of the evacuation used a wood harbour come jetty (Mole) but this was bombed by the Luftwaffe. The problem was how to get the troops on to the the Navy destroyers as these could not get in close to the beaches.
The answer was a fleet of small vessels that where able to get in close to the beaches and pluck the British (and French) troops to safety and home. These vessels where commandeered by the Navy and consisted of all kinds of small craft from river launches and pleasure boats to Thames barges and tugs These vessels were to become known as : The Dunkirk Little Ships
Vice Admiral Ramsay, who was in charge of Operation Dynamo only expected to evacuate 30,000 troops In fact over 300,000 troops were saved.
The number of little boats that sailed on their own initiative will never be known but with out them many would have died.
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