The two German cruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, had joined the Bismark on its Atlantic raiding mission and had eventually found sanctuary in the French port of Brest. There they were the targets of ongoing raids by the RAF, eventually escaping to German in the action known as the "Channel Dash."
Morrison Jolly flew a Vickers Wellington bomber with 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron on those raids and one of them was his last flight.
A plan had been prepared for a major assault on the German cruisers at Brest, and this was to take place by daylight on the 24th. On the 23rd, the Scharnhorst was spotted at La Pallice, two hundred miles further south, and it was decided, that she should be attacked by Halifaxes, while the original plan went ahead at Brest. Three Fortresses from 2 Group’s 90 Squadron were to lead the operation by bombing from very high level. It was hoped that they, and a diversion by Hampdens under a Spitfire escort at a less rarified altitude, would draw off sufficient enemy fighters, to allow seventy nine Wellingtons from 1 and 3 Groups to bomb unopposed. In the event, the fighter and flak opposition was more fierce than anticipated, and the Wellington crews had to run the gauntlet as they made their final approach. In return for six unconfirmed hits on the Gneisenau, ten Wellingtons were shot down, and one of them was a 218 Squadron aircraft. R1726 was observed to carry out an attack, before crashing into the sea in the target area, killing P/O Jolly and three of his crew, while two others survived to be taken into captivity. It was P/O Jolly’s nineteenth operation. -218 (Gold Coast) Squadron, 1936-1945.
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