Jane Holland, the Eastbourne lifeboat, just 40ft long with a l0ft 6in beam, built by J. Samuel White, was the oldest of the RNLI fleet at Dunkirk, and the one to survive the greatest damage. She was hit forward by a French motor boat, and then aft by a British torpedo boat and strafed by enemy aircraft. Abandoned by her crew, a French destroyer tried to sink her by gunfire, as a hazard to navigation, but failed. She was found drifting full of water and towed home, with her fore-end box stove-in and riddled by more than 500 bullet holes.
She was soon back in service and remained so for twelve years. She was last heard of as 'Reporter' at Birkenhead.
Source: 1, 5 & 20
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