In 1942, the Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment was created in Great Britain. It was a special forces unit that was trained to conduct secret missions using small boats. It was headed by the dashing Maj. Herbert “Blondie” Hasler. He came up with a plan to hit the Germans where it hurt. The target was shipping in the port of Bordeaux, France. Much important war supplies came in here. Kayaks would be used to reach the ships and place explosives on them. Six Mark II kayaks called cockles would be used. Each carried two men and they had eight limpet mines that would be attached to hulls. The six teams were delivered by the submarine HMS Tuna to the entrance to the estuary on Dec. 7, 1942. From there it was a sixty-mile paddle to the harbor. Things went awry immediately. One cockle was damaged exiting the sub. Another went down in choppy waters. Two other pairs were captured. This left only the Catfish (Hasler and Bill Sparks) and the Crayfish (Albert Lavers and Bill Mills). They rowed at night and hid on shore at night. The Catfish managed to place its mines on four ships and the Crayfish on two. The placement went without a hitch and with only one scary moment when a flashlight was shown because someone heard a noise. The quartet got out of the area and attempted to make their way to Spain, but Lavers and Mills were captured soon after. They were executed as were the other captured crews, as per the infamous Commando Order in which Hitler ordered the executions of all captured special force personnel. Hasler and Sparks managed to cross the Pyrenees with the help of the French resistance and eventually returned to England. The mission was a big boost to British morale and Churchill claimed it shortened the war by six months. Historians now believe this claim was greatly exaggerated. The six ships were not severely damaged (as originally reported) and were quickly repaired. What was not in dispute was the bravery of the “Cockleshell Heroes”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Frankton
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-12914628
https://sofrep.com/news/operation-frankton-daring-raid-time-2/
0 Comments