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SCUBAPRO Sunday – BMCM (MDV) Carl Brashear

Sunday, January 24th, 2021

Master Diver Carl Brashear was born on January 19, 1931, in Tonieville, Kentucky. He joined the Navy in Feb 1948. A 31-year Navy veteran, Brashear retired in 1979 as a Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate, the highest enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy. In 1966 while diving to recover a lost nuclear weapon off Spain’s coast, Brashear was severely injured in an accident. As a result, surgeons amputated his left leg below the knee. He refused to submit to a medical board’s attempt to retire him as unfit for duty. After demonstrating that he could still dive and perform his other duties, he was assigned to Harbor Clearance Unit 2, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Experimental Diving Unit. He was the first person to be returned to full service as a Navy diver after losing a limb in a diving salvage accident. There was a movie made about him in 2000 called Men of Honor. Master Chief Brasher was everything a good senior leader should be; he led from the front, he didn’t take no for an answer when he knew he was right, took care of the people below him, and left the Navy a better place then he found it.

Below, Carl training after he lost his leg, getting back to full active duty status.

usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/01/16/overcoming-hurdles-the-legacy-of-master-chief-carl-brashear

Posted in Advertiser, Guest Post, History, Maritime, Navy | 10 Comments »

First There…That Others May Live: Special Tactics History

Sunday, January 10th, 2021

Posted in AFSW, Air Force, History, SOF | 2 Comments »

SCUBAPRO Sunday – The Watch That Won WWII

Sunday, January 3rd, 2021

As the world marked the 76th anniversary of the end of World War II, people can claim a lot of items was the “one thing” we had that is the main reason we won the war. The .50 machine gun, The Higgins Boat, The Jeep (G.P.), and the M1 Grand rifle. There are more items I could list, but it would take a long time. There is one that was one of the best-kept secrets to helping win the war. In every campaign, everyone in charge of a ship, a plane, a boat, or a bomb had one, or it was part of that item. It was the Hamilton watch. Renowned for its accuracy. Hamilton’s wartime contributions took many forms, long known for their accurate timepieces, and they were essential to the Allied Forces’ victory in WWII.

The Hamilton watch company was incorporated in1892 in Lancaster, PA. In 1891, an engineer’s inaccurate pocket watch led to a terrible train crash near Cleveland, Ohio. As a result of the investigation into that crash, an industry commission devised precise timekeeping standards for pocket watches (there were no wristwatches at this time) (get it time) used by railroad personnel. Pocket watches that met those exacting requirements were known as “railroad watches,” and a leader in making them was the. Hamilton watch company. Hamilton’s first production of those watches in March 1894 became so highly regarded for their accuracy they were called the “Watch of Railroad Accuracy.”

That reputation took Hamilton into World War I, as the official watch of the American Expeditionary Forces. Soldiers and some watch companies had devised strapped pocket watches to the wearer’s wrist so that their hands were free so they could still fight, and Hamilton took note. Soon, the 981 Wrist Watch was born. The below picture is a 981 with a shrapnel guard on it.

In the 1930s, its wristwatches’ accuracy led several new airlines to adopt Hamilton as their official timepiece. By 1940, Hamilton was one of America’s best-selling watch brands. They had their own designers, engineers, physicists, and metallurgists, and they were a leader in research in watch oils, hairsprings, jewel bearings, and escapement design. An Escapement is a mechanic, a device that permits controlled motion, usually in steps. In a watch or clock, it is the mechanism that controls the transfer of energy from the power source to the counting mechanism. For the ASVAB waivers in the room, basically, it helps maintain a steady flow of energy. In the summer of 1939 and again late 1940, the United States Naval Observatory (the U.S. authority on timekeeping, chronometers, and other navigational equipment) sent letters to eight watch companies that might be interested in creating an American marine chronometer. Hamilton replied and requested a sample chronometer for them to study.

In Feb, of 1942, 13 weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, they delivered two prototypes for review to the U.S. Naval Observatory. Navy officials were “simply astonished” by their precision, innovations, and reproducibility. Timekeeping and measuring devices were of critical importance to the military for planning missions, dropping bombs, time fuses for the bombs, navigation for ships and planes, and countless other efforts. As part of the war effort, Hamilton produced top-secret mechanical time fuzes for the exact timing of the anti-aircraft fire, jewel bearings, hairsprings, aircraft clocks, elapsed time clocks, altimeters, tachometers, map measurers—even tools, dies, and precision machinery for another watch, instrument, and jewel makers.

A lot of U.S. watchmakers made wristwatches for the military during WWII. Hamilton alone produced hundreds of thousands of them for the military and other special “military” sections. They also made them for Canada, the U.K., and the Russians. These included “hack” watches, “like in Let’s get a time hack” named for a mechanism in the movement, connected to the crown, which set time to the exact second. They were used to synchronize countless military attacks, troop and train movements, bombing raids, even training events.

Hamilton timepieces also included a top-secret Frogman watch, with a large “crown” over the regular crown to keep it watertight.

Hamilton made watches for almost every aspect of war. In the air, pilots, navigators of fighters, bombers, and even blimps navigate using a pocket watch as their “master time source.” This military version of Hamilton’s railroad watch was kept on simple rubber or spring shock absorbers in a small metal carrying case (to isolate it from magnetic fields, vibrations, and turbulence) with a glass window.

Also essential was Hamilton’s “bomb timer,” with wristwatch movement and dial mounted into a bombsight with a movie camera, which filmed the dial and target at the moment of impact to measure the bombs’ effectiveness. Hamilton’s most significant achievements in World War II were its marine chronometer and chronometer watches. Many experts consider its marine chronometer to be the finest ever produced. What makes this even more impressive is that, until World War II, Hamilton had never made such a timepiece. Before the invention of the GPS (you still should have a chart/ map and a way to navigate if the GPS goes down, especial if you are jumping your boats into the water), you would use time, speed, and distance to calculating longitude and plotting location and direction, from a place of departure or use the stars, you also needed to have the exact time to be in the right place to start an invasion.

Hamilton’s marine chronometer Model 21 was based on traditional ones but with several improvements. Most evident was a unique balance and hairspring assembly, a radical departure from conventional chronometer design. Such advances made Model 21 more accurate than any other marine chronometer. Properly maintained, it kept time to within a half-second per day.

It wasn’t only the Navy (which bought around 9,000) that used them. The Army Air Corp bought 500, and the Maritime Commission bought 1,500. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had one in the White House map room to maintain a day and night watch. Hamilton continued making marine chronometers after the war; they made a little under 14,000 by 1970, when it ended U.S. production. Every vessel that belonged to the U.S. and many of our allies used a Hamilton chronometer for navigation. Battleships and aircraft carriers used the Model 21, housed in a glass-covered wooden box, with its movement swung on brass gimbals to keep it level and accurate even in the roughest seas. The Model 22 was used as an auxiliary timer for bigger ships and navigation on smaller vessels like destroyers, submarines, merchant marine, hospital ships, tankers, escort vessels, and P.T. boats. The model 22 was a chronometer watch, not a marine chronometer. Though smaller and less delicate than Model 21, Model 22 also was kept in a gimbaled wooden box.

By war’s end in 1945, Hamilton timepieces ruled the sea, air, and land, getting victorious Allied troops to where they were going, whether on foot or by ship, plane, tank, submarine, or troop train. The Hamilton watch company made over 10,000-chronograph for the war effort. It should really be in the running, if not considered the one thing we could not have won the war without.

In 1957, Hamilton came out with the Ventura, the world’s first battery-powered watch; it was also helped by Elvis, who wore it in the 1961 movie “Blue Hawaii.”

The Hamilton watch served the U.S. military well into the Vietnam war and beyond; it is one of the longest serving watches in U.S. history.

As a foot note for Eric, in 1968, Hamilton was asked to design futuristic timepieces for the crew of Stanley Kubrick’s famous film, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” A few years after being commissioned to make a “futuristic” looking watch for the movie, Hamilton invented (along with Electro/Data Inc. of Texas) the digital watch. They designed the watch to look far more like HAL 9000 than the watches that were actually in A Space Odyssey.

Lastly, for E.G., they designed the watches for the first “Men in Black” movie.

In 1968 they moved production to Switzerland. In 1971, they were acquired by the Omega & Tissot Holding Company SSIH purchased the Hamilton brand and utilized the Hamilton name for several branding efforts, including numerous quartz watches in the 1980s. Then in 1984, they became a subsidiary of The Swatch Group.

Posted in Advertiser, Guest Post, History, Watches | 10 Comments »

That Time an American General Said “Nuts” to the Nazis

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2020

December 22 1944 – Encircled by German forces at the Battle of the Bulge, the 101st Airborne Division, under acting commander Brigadier General McAuliffe received a message from German General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz delivered under flag of truce.

To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours term.

All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well-known American humanity.

His response was perfect.

To the German Commander.
NUTS!
The American Commander

Posted in History | 11 Comments »

More On The Son Tay Raid 50th Anniversary Event from Erik Lawrence

Sunday, December 20th, 2020

My friend Erik Lawrence has released three additional videos on the Son Tay Raid 50th Anniversary Event last month in Phoenix to accompany his earlier videos.

Festivities

Interview with Author Terry Buckler

Behind The Scenes

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SCUBAPRO Sunday – Operation Just Cause

Sunday, December 20th, 2020

President George H. W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama on December 16, 1989. Its primary aim was to depose and capture Manuel Noriega, the country’s military dictator, charged in the United States on drug trafficking charges, dubbed “Operation Just Cause.”

Bush cited four reasons for the invasion: safeguarding the lives of Panama’s approximately 35,000 U.S. citizens; defending democracy and human rights; fighting drug trafficking in a country that had become a base for drug money laundering and a point of transit to the U.S. and Europe for drug trafficking and maintaining the dignity of the treaties signed by President Jimmy Carter.

27,684 U.S. troops and over 300 aircraft were involved in the campaign. It started with an attack on strategic assets, including the Panama City commercial airport and a garrison and airfield of the Panamanian Defense Force at Rio Hato, where Noriega maintained a home.

SEAL Team Four and Two sank Noriega’s private boat and destroyed his Panamanian gunboat.

Punta Paitilla Airfield was one of the worst days in SEAL team history. Team Four were tasked with destroying Noriega’s aircraft at the airfield. When first assigned, the SEALs to stand off and just shot up the plane so it couldn’t be used; as the day of planning went on, it got more and more complicated; it started with destroying the aircraft, to just shot out the engine, to shoot the tires to cut the tires. With three platoons of 48 operators total, this was more of a job for the Rangers; at 0030 hours on the 20th, the SEALs under the command of LtCdr Patrick Toohey inserted just south of the airfield from Zodiacs CRRC.

They were in place by 0105 hours, but safety elements announced that the Panamanian V300 Cadillac Gage armored cars were approaching the airfield quickly. Toohey sent a squad to set up a blocking position, but the Panamanians opened fire on the airfield as soon as they started to move, killing one SEAL and injuring five others. The other SEALs reinforced the troops under fire and suffered two more casualties and four more injuries in the ensuing firefight. They damaged Noriega’s aircraft with an AT-4 missile.

They rolled an aircraft into the middle of the runway during the night to prevent the airfield from being used. The injured were taken to Howard Air Force Base by MEDEVAC. The SEALs guarded the airfield until mid-morning when a company from the 75th Ranger Regiment relieved them. Team Four was also tasked with sending a recon team to watch one of the central prisons, as it was believed that when the invasion took place, Noriega would order all the prisoners to be released to help fight the Americans and add to the chaos. The Four Team guys that died were. LT John Connors, ENC Don McFaul, Torpedoman’s Mate 2nd Class Issac Rodriguez and Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Chris Tilghman.

Don McFaul purposely laid himself across a brother during the gunfight to shield him and was honored by the posthumous award of the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart. The USS McFaul (DDG-74) was named in honor of CPO Don McFaul.

SEAL Team TWO was tasked with sinking Noriega’s boat. Four SEALs were inserted from Zodiac that had departed from NSW Unit 8. The swim pairs planted explosives on Presidente Porras’s pier. They then swam and plated explosives on Noriega’s boat and were then fired at by Panamanian guards who threw grenades into the sea. The SEALs swam to the pier and could see the gunboat destroyed by the explosions, hiding beneath it. They later swam back out into the canal, where the CRRCs picked them up.

Operation Acid Gambit. The rescue of Kurt Muse’s. Muse was an American who grew up in Panama, got married, and moved back after his military service had ended. His wife was a schoolteacher from the DOD. In May 1989, he was arrested and placed in Modelo Prison for operating a clandestine anti-Noriega radio station. Muse was an (a ledged) CIA operative, one Panamanian newspaper reported.

President Bush determined that after getting a letter smuggled out of jail, but a U.S. military doctor allowed to treat him, Muse’s rescue was the course of action. 1st Special Force Delta (CAG) was tasked with his rescue

Delta began rehearsing the prison raid in a mockup they designed at Eglin AFB, Florida. They had used notes supplied by the doctor. Undetected, they fled to Panama and began tentative preparations to raid the jail. 23 Delta operators boarded four MH-6 “Little Bird” helicopters shortly after midnight on the 20th and landed on the prison roof.

The operators got to the most defensible position and prepared for Muse’s defense. Around 15 minutes later, an IR-strobe light signaled a passing chopper. They relayed their location by radio, and a 5th Infantry Division armored vehicle arrived shortly afterward, picked up everyone, and took them to safety. In the field and the Comandancia (Noriega’s Headquarters) across the street, Delta Snipers quickly removed sentries. To get attention away from Modelo Prison, two Air Force C-130 Spectre Gunships started shelling the Comandancia at that moment.

As soon as a rescue attempt began, one operator climbed down the building’s side to a window outside Muse’s cell to remove the guard tasked with killing him is a rescue was attempted.

The breaching team blew the door to the roof, and the extraction teams began two floors down the stairs to Muse’s cell. The Delta operators eliminated two guards, and another who was not armed and did not fight was bound. Muse saw their flashlight beams and saw their smoke. It was only then that he heard an American voice asking him to cover up. Delta operator Pat Savidge attempted to shoot the lock off, but with bolt cutters supplied by Delta’s Kelly Venden, it stood up and had to be cut off. Savidge said “Merry Christmas” to Muse, giving him body armor, goggles, and a Kevlar helmet. They climbed up to the roof again.

The now overloaded Little Bird started nose-diving for the street, 60 feet below, once onboard the MH-6 that was called back for extraction. Just a few feet from the road, the pilot regained control, and they flew down the highway, placing the gap between themselves and the prison just a few feet from the ground. The pilot was going to try to take off again after putting himself down in a courtyard. During the chaos, Savidge and Venden refused to cave in.

The severe ground fire took place as the chopper lifted off. Venden was struck in the chest and dropped 20-30 feet from the helicopter to the ground. To save his mate, Savidge grabbed his gear to hold onto him and was also pulled out. The Little Bird was peppered with fire on the right side of it and crashed. The skid pinched the ankle of Delta operator James Sudderth. The four operators were all injured, but Muse and the pilots were all right.

Now on the ground, the guys found the most defensible position and prepared for a counterattack. About 15 minutes later, an IR-strobe light signaled a passing chopper. They relayed their location by radio, and a 5th Infantry Division armored vehicle arrived shortly afterward, picked up everyone, and took them to safety.

Seize Rio Hato Rangers, Tocumen Airports: The 2nd and 3rd Ranger Battalions were charged with seizing the Rio Hato airfield, destroying the base’s PDF garrison [the largest in the military], and seizing the plush beach house of Noriega.

Two F-117A stealth fighter-bombers delivered two 2,000-lb at H-hour. This was done to shock and confuse the PDF garrison of the two of the most heavily armed infantry companies defending the airfield, and precision bombs were missing. The precision munitions only managed to wake the defenders.

The Rangers lowered thirteen C-130s flying from the U.S. into a vortex of fire from just 500 feet. Despite the incoming fire, two Rangers’ companies rushed and assembled to take the airfield, cut the Pan-American Highway running through it and capture a nearby ammunition dump.

Another company targeted a nearby NCO academy complex, and another hit the two PDF companies deployed to protect the airfield. The PDF defending the airfield was said to be Noriega’s best, and the firefight was furious. Two Rangers were killed and four injured when targeted in a friendly fire incident by a helicopter gunship. But within five hours, it was safe for the entire complex to include Noriega’s beach house.

The 1st Ranger Battalion jumped in to capture it and protect it for follow-up forces outside of Panama City, Torrijos [Tocumen] Airport, the national commercial airport location. The Rangers suffered just two deaths, with only five killed and 21 captured, while Panama’s losses were minor. Around an hour after the Rangers had secured the airfield, the 82nd Airborne Division arrived and started to jump in.

Special Forces Capture Pacora River Bridge Stop Bn 2000: A Co. 3rd Bn 7th Special Forces Group men stationed in Panama were assigned to oversee Fort Cimarron, home of Bn 2000, Noriega’s only armored unit. Under Major Kevin Higgins’ order, A-3-7 was informed that ten vehicles were leaving Cimarron. He and 24 Green Berets were heading to the Pacora River Bridge to stop the convoy from reaching Panama.

River Pacora Bridge

On the way, the Blackhawk helicopters flying to the bridge got lost, but they soared quickly, reaching the bridge over the armored column. Just as the Panamanians came to the eastern side, the S.F. troops got to the bridge’s western side. The slope to get up to the bridge was steep, and when the headlights of the Panamanian vehicles were illuminated, the heavily laden S.F. troops were getting to the bridge. Among the first men on the bridge were SFC ‘Tico’ Roman and SFC Dana Bowman, and they blasted the lead vehicle with AT-4s. That made the convoy stop in its tracks. But the Green Berets were mainly armed with M-16s, M-249s, and M-203s. Higgins had no hesitation. He called in close in air support from an AC-130 Spectre gunship, dangerously close to his men, and gunships decimated the column. By crawling under the bridge, the Panamanians attempted to get away from Spectre. But with machine-gun fire and buckshot rounds with M-203s, the S.F. forces raked the girders. Much of the night, the running firefight lasted with the Panamanians attempting to flank the S.F. forces, who were reinforced by A Co. 1st Bn, 7th SFG elements from Ft. During the night, Bragg. After their Sheridan armored reconnaissance vehicles moved from the airport, they eventually joined up with representatives of the 82nd Airborne later the next day.

Noriega remained at large for several days. Realizing he had few options in the face of a massive fugitive hunt and a $1 million reward for his capture, he sought refuge in the Vatican diplomatic mission in Panama City. However, the U.S. military’s psychological pressure on him and diplomatic pressure on the Vatican mission proved relentless — as was the nonstop playing of loud rock and roll music in the densely populated area.

Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990. He was immediately put on an MC-130E Combat Talon I aircraft and flown to the United States. He was tried, sentenced, and sent to federal prison for 17 years.

Twenty-three U.S. soldiers were killed, and 325 were wounded during the conflict.

Operation Just Cause was not like the operation conducted today, and they’re still were some of the same problems that the U.S. had during the invasion of Grenada. The communications were still failing, and several units were unable to communicate with each other. At times, communication between Special Operations and conventional units was shaky and at others non-existent. Despite this in later conflicts, various elements of our Special Operations Forces laid the groundwork for engaging with each other. I did not talk about all of the missions that conducted by US Special Operation Forces; Development Group was also involved as well as other Special Mission units. I just tried to get a good portion of the story out there and show the different operations conducted during the invasion.

I checked into SEAL Team Four a couple of years after Panama; my first Leading Petty Officer was one of the people wounded on the airfield. I would never take anything away from the guys that were on the ground. There were many lessons learned, not just by Team Four, but by everyone on the ground. Not one unit didn’t have some problems. I will always call Team Four my home, and I am very proud of gowning as a SEAL and working in the “J” (that’s the jungle for you, none Team Cuatro folks). Lastly, please take a moment to remember all who have gone before us and their families celebrating another holiday without one of their loved ones.

Posted in Advertiser, Guest Post, History, SOF | 12 Comments »

Capt Larry Thorn – Soldier of Three Wars

Saturday, December 19th, 2020

Larry Thorne enlisted in the Army as a private in 1954, but he wasn’t your everyday new trainee – he had already spent a majority of his adult life fighting against the Soviets in brutal winter conditions.

Born in Finland in 1919, Törni enlisted at age 19 in his country’s army and fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939-40, rising to the rank of Captain and leading ski troops who literally skied into battle against enemy forces.

In 1944 during what the Finns called The Continuation War, he received Finland’s version of the Medal of Honor — the Mannerheim Cross — for his bravery while leading a light infantry battalion.

After Finland signed a cease-fire in 1944, he joined the German Army so that he could continue fighting. After Germany’s defeat, Törni returned to Finland and later moved to the United States where he enlisted under the name Larry Thorne.

He was able to enlist because of the Lodge-Philbin Act passed, which allowed foreigners to join the U.S. military and allowed them citizenship if they served honorably for at least five years.

More than 200 eastern Europeans joined the Army Special Forces before the Act expired in 1959, including Larry Thorne. Thorne quickly distinguished himself among his peers of Green Berets. Though he enlisted as a private, his wartime skill-set led him to become an instructor at the Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg teaching everything from survival to guerrilla tactics. In 1957, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and would rise to the rank of captain.

In Vietnam, he earned the Bronze Star medal for heroism, along with five Purple Hearts for combat wounds, before being killed in a helicopter crash in 1965.

Thorne Plaza is directly in front of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Headquarters here on Fort Carson and is a common site for promotions, retirements, and other ceremonies.

Source – 10th SFG(A)

Posted in Guest Post, History, SOF | 10 Comments »

SCUBAPRO Sunday – Operation Frankton

Sunday, December 13th, 2020

Operation Frankton was a commando raid designed to disrupt the shipping of the German-occupied French port of Bordeaux in southwest France during World War II. The raid was carried out by a small Royal Marines unit known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD), part of Combined Operations, now known as the Special Boat Service. They planned on using six canoes to be taken to the area of the Gironde estuary by submarine. They would then paddle by night to Bordeaux. They would attack the docked cargo ships with limpet mines and then escape overland to Spain on arrival. Twelve men from no.1 section were selected for the raid, including the commanding officer, Herbert ‘Blondie’ Hasler, and with the reserve Marine Colley the total of the team numbered thirteen. One canoe was damaged while being deployed from the submarine, and it and its crew, therefore, could not take part in the mission. Only two of the ten men who launched from the submarine survived the raid: Hasler and his no.2 in the canoe, Bill Sparks. Of the other eight, six were executed by the Germans, while two died from hypothermia.

The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill believed the mission shortened the war by six months. The words of Lord Mountbatten, the Commander of Combined Operations, are carved into a Purbeck stone at Royal Marines Poole (current headquarters of the SBS): “Of the many brave and dashing raids carried out by the men of Combined Operations Command none was more courageous or imaginative than Operation Frankton.” The Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD) was formed on 6 July 1942 and is based at Southsea, Portsmouth. The RMBPD was under the command of Royal Marines Major Herbert ‘Blondie’ Hasler, with Captain J. D. Stewart as second in command. The detachment consisted of 34 men and was based at Lumps Fort, and often exercised in the Portsmouth Harbor and patrolled the harbor boom at nights.

The Bay of Biscay port of Bordeaux was a significant destination for goods to support the German war effort. In the 12 months from June 1941 – 1942, vegetable and animal oils, other raw materials, and 25,000 tons of crude rubber had arrived at the port. Hasler submitted a plan of attack on 21 September 1942. The initial plan called for a force of three canoes to be transported to the Gironde estuary by submarine, then paddle by night and hide by day until they reached Bordeaux 60 miles (97 km) from the sea, thus hoping to avoid the 32 mixed Kriegsmarine ships that patrolled or used the port. On arrival, they hoped to sink between six and 12 cargo ships then escape overland to Spain.

Permission for the raid was granted on 13 October 1942, but Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations, increased the number of canoes to be taken to six. Mountbatten had initially ordered that Hasler could not take part in the raid because of his experience as the chief canoeing specialist but changed his mind after Hasler (the only man with experience in small boats) formally submitted his reasons inclusion. The RMBPD started training for the raid on 20 October 1942, which included canoe handling, submarine rehearsals, limpet mine handling, and escape and evasion exercises. The RMBPD practiced for the raid with a simulated attack against Deptford, starting from Margate and canoeing up the Swale.

Mark II canoes, which were given the codename of Cockle, were selected for the raid. The Mark II was a semi-rigid two-man canoe, with the sides made of canvas, a flat bottom, and 15 feet (4.6 m) in length. When collapsed, it had to be capable of negotiating the submarine’s narrow confines to the storage area then, before it was ready to be taken on deck, erected and stored ready to be hauled out via the submarine torpedo hatch. During the raid, each canoe’s load would be two men, eight limpet mines, three sets of paddles, a compass, a depth sounding reel, repair bag, torch, camouflage net, waterproof watch, fishing line, two hand grenades, rations, and water for six days, a spanner to activate the mines and a magnet to hold the canoe against the side of cargo ships. The total safe load for the ‘Cockle’ Mark 2 was 480lbs. The men also carried a .45 ACP pistol and a Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife.

The men selected to go on the raid were divided into two divisions, each having its own targets.

· A Division

· B Division

A thirteenth man was taken as a reserve, Marine Norman Colley.

Mission

On 30 November 1942, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Tuna (N94) sailed from Holy Loch in Scotland with the six canoes and raiders on board. The submarine was supposed to reach the Gironde estuary, and the mission was scheduled to start on 6 December 1942. This was delayed because of bad weather en route and the need to negotiate a minefield. By 7 December 1942, the submarine had reached the Gironde estuary and surfaced some 10 miles (16 km) from the estuary’s mouth. Canoe Cachalot’s hull was damaged while being passed out of the submarine hatch, leaving just five canoes to start the raid. The reserve member of the team, Colley, was not needed, so he remained aboard the submarine with the Cachalot crew Ellery and Fisher.

According to Tuna’s log, the five remaining canoes were launched at 1930 hours on 7 December. The plan was for the crews to paddle and rest for five minutes every hour. The first night, 7/8 December, fighting against strong cross tides and crosswinds, canoe Coalfish had disappeared. The surviving crews encountered 5 feet (1.5 m) high waves, and canoe Conger capsized and was lost. The team consisting of Sheard and Moffatt held on to two of the remaining canoes, which carried them as close to the shore as possible, and had to swim ashore. The teams approached a significant checkpoint in the river and came upon three German frigates carrying on with the raid.

Lying flat on the canoes and paddling silently, they managed to get by without being discovered but became separated from Mackinnon and Conway in canoe Cuttlefish. On the first night, the three remaining canoes, Catfish, Crayfish, and Coalfish, covered 20 miles (32 km) in five hours and landed near St Vivien du Medoc. While they were hiding during the day and unknown to the others, Wallace and Ewart in Coalfish had been captured at daybreak near the Pointe de Grave lighthouse where they had come ashore. By the end of the second night, 8/9 December, the two remaining canoes, Catfish and Crayfish, had paddled a further 22 miles (35 km) in six hours. On the third night, 9/10 December, they paddled 15 miles (24 km), and on the fourth night, 10/11 December, because of the strong ebb tide, they only managed to cover 9 miles (14 km). The original plan had called for the raid to be carried out on 10 December, but Hasler now changed the plan. Because of the ebb tide’s strength, they still had a short distance to paddle, so Hasler ordered them to hide for another day and set off to and reach Bordeaux on the night of 11/12 December.

After a night’s rest, the men spent the day preparing their equipment and limpet mines, which were set to detonate at 21:00 hours. Hasler decided that Catfishwould cover the western side of the docks and Crayfish the eastern side.

The two remaining canoes, Catfish and Crayfish, reached Bordeaux on the fifth night, 11/12 December; the river was flat calm, and there was a clear sky. The attack started at 21:00 hours on 11 December. Hasler and Sparks in Catfishattacking shipping on the western side of the dock placed eight limpet mines on four vessels, including a Sperrbrecher patrol boat. A sentry on the deck of the Sperrbrecher, apparently spotting something, shone his torch down toward the water, but the camouflaged canoe evaded detection in the darkness. They had planted all their mines and left the harbor with the ebb tide at 00:45 hours. At the same time, Laver and Mills in Crayfish had reached the eastern side of the dock without finding any targets, so returned to deal with the ships docked at Bassens. They placed eight limpet mines on two vessels, five on a large cargo ship, and three on a small liner.

On their way downriver, the two canoes met by chance on the Isle de Caseau. They continued downriver together until 06:00 hours when they beached their canoes near St Genes de Blaye and tried to hide them by sinking them. The two crews then set out separately, on foot, for the Spanish border. After two days, Laver and Mills were apprehended at Montlieu-la-Garde by the Gendarmerie and handed over to the Germans. Hasler and Sparks arrived at the French town of Ruffec, 100 miles (160 km) from where they had beached their canoe, on 18 December 1942. They contacted someone from the French Resistance at the Hotel de la Toque Blanche and were then taken to a local farm. They spent the next 18 days there in hiding. They were then guided across the Pyrenees into Spain.

It was not until 23 February 1943 that Combined Operations Headquarters heard via Mary Lindell’s secret message to the War Office that Hasler and Sparks were safe. On 2 April 1943, Hasler arrived back in Britain by air from Gibraltar, having passed through the French Resistance escape organization. Sparks was sent back by sea and arrived much later.

Aftermath

On 10 December, the Germans announced that a sabotage squad had been caught on 8 December near the Gironde’s mouth and “finished off in combat.” It was not until January 1943 that all ten men on the raid were posted missing in the absence of other information until news arrived of two of them. Later it was confirmed that five ships had been damaged in Bordeaux by mysterious explosions. This information remained until new research of 2010 revealed that a sixth ship had been damaged even more extensively than any of the other five reported. This research also revealed that the other five vessels holed were back in service very shortly afterward.

For their part in the raid, Hasler was awarded a Distinguished Service Order and Sparks the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM). Laver and Mills were also recommended for the DSM, which could not be awarded posthumously, so instead, they were mentioned in despatches.

Of the men who never returned, Wallace and Ewart were captured on 8 December at the Pointe de Grave (near Le Verdon) and revealed only certain information during their interrogation, and were executed under the Commando Order, on the night 11 December, in a sandpit in a wood north of Bordeaux and not at Chateau Magnol, Blanquefort. A plaque has been erected on the marked bullet wall at the Chateau, but the authenticity of the details on the plaque has been questioned; indeed, given the evidence of a statement by a German officer who was at the execution, there can be no doubt that the Chateau has no link with Wallace and Ewart. A small memorial can also be seen at the Pointe de Grave, where they were captured. In March 2011, a €100,000 memorial was unveiled at this same spot. After a naval firing squad executed the Royal Marines, the Commander of the Navy Admiral Erich Raeder wrote in the Seekriegsleitung war diary that the executions of the captured Royal Marines were something “new in international law, since the soldiers were wearing uniforms.” The American historian Charles Thomas wrote that Raeder’s remarks about the executions in the Seekriegsleitung war diary seemed to be some ironic comment, which might have reflected a lousy conscience on Raeder’s part.

After having been set ashore, MacKinnon and Conway managed to evade capture for four days, but they were betrayed and arrested by the Gendarmerie and handed over to the Germans at La Reole hospital 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Bordeaux, attempting to make their way to the Spanish border. Mackinnon had been admitted to the hospital for treatment for an infected knee. The exact date of their execution is not known. Evidence shows that Mackinnon, Laver, Mills, and Conway were not executed in Paris in 1942 but possibly in the same location as Wallace and Ewart under the Commando Order.

The attack had been planned for the fourth night, but because they were not far enough up the river, Major Haslar delayed it until the fifth night, deciding to move in closer to the target area. They continued along the river with great caution and found a lay-up position in reeds, only a short distance from two large cargo ships. In their hide position, the men worked out details of the plan of attack. With only CATFISH and CRAYFISH now available, Catfish was to take the shipping on the east bank, and Crayfish the shipping on the west bank.

Nineteen limpet mines with nine-hour fuses were placed, resulting in considerable damage to at least five large ships in the harbor. Adolf Hitler was furious. One of the cockles had been discovered, and he demanded to know how ‘this child’s boat’ could have possibly breached all German defenses and security, traveled over seventy miles at night in very rough seas and against the tide, then attacked and sank his shipping with not one of them being discovered! The answer that Hitler did not want to hear was that these ‘children’s boats’ had been crewed by well-trained, determined, and courageous, Commando raiders of the ROYAL MARINES. Major Hasler received a DSO for his part in organizing and leading the raid and Marine Sparks a DSM. The RMBPD later became The Special Boat Squadron.

The Commandos’ final task was to leave the target area undetected then make their way through France in the hope of finally reaching England. After a few miles, they went and wished each other luck, hid their cockles a quarter of a mile apart by sinking them, and headed inland. The men headed north for Ruffec in the hope of connecting with the Marie-Clare Line that operated in the Ruffec area. Contact was made, and Marie-Clare (Mary Lindell) had the men moved to Lyon while traveling to Switzerland to report their contact. A route was arranged for them to travel to the south of France, cross the Pyrenees, and return to England via Gibraltar.

CATFISH: Major Hasler/Marine Sparks reached the target area destroyed shipping. He returned home via Marie-Clare Escape Line and Gibraltar.

CRAYFISH: Corporal Laver/Marine Mills reached the target area, destroyed shipping. Last seen landing. Captured by Germans. Executed in Paris on 23 March 1943.

CONGER: Corporal Sheard/Marine Moffat capsized in a second tidal race. He was last seen swimming to shore off Point de Grave. Moffat’s body was found later. Sheard’s body was never found, presumed drowned.

CUTTLEFISH: Lieutenant Mackinnon/Marine Conway last seen off The Mole at Le Verdon. He was later captured by Germans, executed in Paris on 23 March 1943.

COALFISH: Sergeant Wallace/Marine Ewart missing near Banc des Olives after the first tidal race. Later captured by Germans and executed near Bordeaux on 12 December 1942.

CACHALOT: Marine Ellery/Marine Fisher – canoe damaged on torpedo hatch of HMS Tuna. They were unable to take part in the raid.

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