Experts to search for shipwrecks from heroic evacuation of Dunkirk

Churchill called the mass evacuation of allied forces from the beach and pier at Dunkirk a "miracle of deliverance" - but the operation to rescue more than 330,000 troops who had been trapped by German forces in May 1940 came at a heavy cost.

- Esther Addley

Of the up to 1,000 boats that scrambled to help the stranded soldiers, hundreds of vessels were sunk during the nine-day Operation Dynamo, with the loss of many lives.

More than eight decades later, French and British archaeologists are embarking on a joint survey of the waters off the northern French city, using the latest technology to scour the seabed for shipwrecks from the heroic rescue armada.

They hope to learn more about 37 wrecks whose locations are known in the vicinity, and to locate other sunken ships - some of which may be large vessels - whose exact whereabouts remain unknown.