Operation Frankton

Operation Frankton was a World War II British Combined Operations military commando raid on Nazi German shipping in Bordeaux harbour, France, in December, 1942, by 12 men of the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment using small two-man Cockle MK II folding kayaks.^[1] A fictionalised version of the story was later told in the film The Cockleshell Heroes made by Warwick Films.

Mission

The headquarters of Operation Frankton was MV Celtic (1903), based at Portsmouth at the time. Led by Major Herbert "Blondie" Hasler, the men launched their six specialised Mk 2 canoes^[2] from the British Royal Navy submarine HMS Tuna (N94) on 7 December, some 10 miles (16 km) from the mouth of the Gironde estuary, near Montalivet. One canoe was damaged while being passed out of the submarine, leaving ten men in five canoes to attempt a 70-mile (110 km) paddle up river (against the winter current) to their targets.

Of those ten, only four reached their objective. Shortly after launching, one canoe became separated from the others and capsized in the surf. The men made it ashore, but were captured by the Germans and executed (shot) in accordance with Hitler’s Commando Order of October of that year.

Two men drowned after their canoe capsized and they fell prey to the cold water and currents. Two more became separated and days later, shortly before the Bordeaux quays, hit an underwater obstruction and sank. They made their way ashore and south towards Spain and were in a civilian hospital at La Réole when they were betrayed to the Gestapo and eventually taken to Paris.

The four remaining men reached their targets after four days, lying low during daylight and paddling only by night.

Though not all limpet mines attached to targets detonated, four cargo ships were flooded and a Sperrbrecher (minesweeper) was damaged. The raiders then made their way over land 90 miles (145 km) northeast to Ruffec, where they stopped at the Hôtel Restaurant la Toque Blanche to contact the French Resistance and utilise the ‘pipeline’ for their escape to Gibraltar and Britain. Only Blondie Hasler and partner Bill Sparks made it; the other two were betrayed by locals and captured at Montlieu. They too ended up in Paris with the men captured at La Réole. All four are believed to have been shot by firing squad on or around 23 March 1943.

Men

Kayaks and their crews were as follows:

• Catfish: Major Hasler, Marine William E. Sparks.
• Cuttlefish: Lieutenant John Wither MacKinnon, Marine James Conway.
• Crayfish : Corporal Albert Frederick Laver, Marine William Henry Mills.
• Cachalot: Marine Ellery, Marine Fisher.
• Coalfish: Sergeant Samuel Wallace, Marine Robert Ewart.
• Conger: Corporal George Sheard, Marine David Moffatt

Additional information

• Corporal Bill Sparks (1922-2002) was not an advisor on the 1955 film The Cockleshell Heroes but wrote two books; The Last of the Cockleshell Heroes, and Cockleshell Commando both of which are factually at odds with the books by Lucas Phillips and Southby-Tailyour. Bill Sparks was not 'commando trained'.
• French authorities have named the overland escape route used by Blondie Hasler and Bill Sparks, which included crossing the Pyrenees (the mountain range between France and Spain), the Frankton Trail. It is now a tourist attraction for hiking.
• A military march, 'Cockleshell Heroes' also commemorates the daring, bravery and sacrifice of the raiders. YouTube version and is often to be heard played by the Band of HM Royal Marines.
• Blondie Hasler's name lives on in the world of marathon canoeing in the United Kingdom with the Hasler Trophy being awarded to winning endurance canoe racing teams.^[3]

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See also

• The Cockleshell Heroes (Dimensions, including length of canoe, incorrect)
• The Cockleshell Canoes by Amberley publishing ISBN 9781848680654

• S.E. Southby-Tailyour. Blondie Pen and Sword 1998 (ISBN 0 85052 516 0).

References

N.B. The ref above (kayaks at war) of craft used in Op Frankton is inaccurate; the CANOES were not of the type described or shown. The Frankton canoes had no internal longitudinal members whatso ever However they DID 'fold'. See 'The Cockleshell Canoes' book ISBN 9781848680654. 100% accurate.

External links

• Royal Marines Operation Frankton remembered
• A re-enactment by the Royal Marines in 2007
• Documentary - The Last of "The Cockleshell Heroes"
• Images of kit used
• Description, kit images, route (in French)
• 2007 re-enactment of Operation Frankton
• Roger and Sandra Downton's tribute to the Cockleshell Heroes
• Cockle Commandos of the Royal Marines, The War Illustrated, February 1, 1946.
• The Cockleshell Heroes at www.historylearning site.co.uk
• Cockleshell-Cadets 2007

Book

C.E. Lucas Phillips. Cockleshell Heroes. William Heinemann, 1956. Pan reprint 2000 (ISBN 0 330 48069 3)

S.E. Southby-Tailyour. Blondie Pen and Sword 1998 (ISBN 0 85052 516 0).

Quentin Rees. 'The Cockleshell Canoes 'Amberley, Dec 2008 and reprint with small amount of additional information June 2009 (ISBN 9781848680654)