It is considered by some to be one of the most daring operations of World War II. L’Operation Frankton, led in December 1942 from the Gironde estuary by ten commandos from the Special Boat Service of the Royal Marines, celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. Several commemorations will take place in Bordeaux and Blanquefort from December 8 to 12. 20 minutes looks back on this raid carried out by kayak to the port of Bordeaux to destroy German ships.
What is Operation Frankton?
Operation Frankton, also nicknamed “operation nut shells”, designates a mission which aimed to destroy, in December 1942, German ships in the port of Bordeaux. Using intelligence from Bordeaux, British officials have confirmation that enemy ships are breaking through the blockade imposed on the Germans between France and the Far East, passing through the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, in departure from Bordeaux. It was Major Herbert Hasler, nicknamed “Blondie”, who convinced to carry out this military operation using kayaks landed from a submarine off Montalivet, and which will go up the Gironde estuary then the Garonne. , an axis closely watched by the Germans, over a hundred kilometers. Arriving at the port of Bordeaux where the Germans believe they are safe, they will have to lay mines on ships.
“Very severe” training
In April 1942, a unit was created to carry out the mission. “A call for volunteers has been launched to participate in a ‘dangerous mission’, without further details,” explains Jean-Claude Déranlot, president of Operation Frankton, History and Values. Very severe training begins, supervised by Hasler, who has been there since the conception of the mission, and who will remain until its execution. An exercise, codenamed “Blanket”, takes place in real conditions in the Thames. “It’s a fiasco, summarizes Jean-Claude Déranlot, but the commander-in-chief of combined operations, Lord Louis Mountbatten, maintains his confidence in Hasler and in the operation. »
For the raid, the choice fell on a two-seater Cockle Mark II type kayak, designed for this mission on the instructions of Hasler, who needed a strong, light and foldable canoe to carry a good amount of equipment. “It’s a 71 cm wide kayak, explains Jean-Claude Déranlot. The boats are placed in the submarine HMS Tuna, inside a tube 72 cm in diameter which is usually used to lower the torpedoes. Apart from Hasler, “the commandos discover the mission in the submarine, and are amazed to learn what they have to do”, says the specialist. catfish, crayfish, Cuttlefish… Each kayak is named after a sea animal beginning with a “c”.
A perilous and… deadly ascent of the estuary
Two times three kayaks, i.e. twelve men, are planned for the mission. The dropping of the boats took place on the evening of December 7, 1942 off the Atlantic coast, near Montalivet. It must take place as quickly as possible, “because when the submarine is on the surface, it is in danger”. All came out in less than half an hour, which is a matter of performance, “the submarine was nevertheless spotted by radar from Soulac, without consequence because by the time it took time to analyze the information, it had left”. Only five kayaks ultimately took part in the operation, the Sperm whale having been damaged on leaving the submarine.
On December 8, a kayak capsized and disappeared. “The two marines managed to swim ashore towards Soulac where, exhausted and in the cold, they sought refuge. They knock on the door of a villa where they come across Germans. They were taken prisoner and shot at Blanquefort on December 12. “After entering the Gironde, “a second kayak takes on water and sinks,” continues Jean-Claude Déranlot. “The two marines find themselves in the water and are towed by the two remaining kayaks, to be approached as close as possible to the coast. But in the cold water of December, their chances of survival are slim. A body will be found on a beach on the Ile de Ré, the other has never been.
So there are only three kayaks left before going up the Gironde and then the Garonne. Navigation is done at night, the day is devoted to rest in camouflaged bivouacs. But, “when setting up the first bivouac in Saint-Vivien, a kayak was missing”. This is the boat of Lieutenant MacKinnon and Marine Conway. “They go up the Gironde on their side, but their kayak hits an object and MacKinnon is injured in the knee. They disembark, near the bec d’Ambès, and we find them at La Réole where MacKinnon is hospitalized. The Germans are quickly made aware, and arrest the two commandos, who are transferred to Paris where they are shot in March 1943.
On December 11, the last two kayaks, the catfish with on board Major Hasler and Marine Sparks, and crayfish occupied by Corporal Laver and Marine Mills, arrive in front of Bassens and hide before taking action. The four commandos “drop everything that will be useless to them for the return on foot” and on the night of December 11 to 12, the catfish headed for the docks on the left bank of the harbor to set mines on three large ships while the crayfish remains on Bassens and lays his mines on two ships, below the waterline. On December 12, between 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., explosions followed one another in Bordeaux and Bassens.
only two survivors…
The two kayaks are already far away when the explosions sound. They go down the Garonne and the Gironde and land north of Blaye, “Hasler and Sparks on one side, Laver and Mills on the other. Laver and Mills are spotted by a collaborator, and arrested. They will be sent to Paris and shot in March 1943 as well. So there will only be two survivors of the operation…
Hasler and Sparks “continue their journey, in civilian clothes, to Ruffec (Charente) where they must make contact with the Resistance. They arrive on December 18, where they present themselves at the hotel-restaurant The White Toque to eat soup. Recovered, they are sent to a farm where they stay for 41 days before being evacuated to Spain via Lyon, Marseille and Perpignan. After crossing the Pyrenees on foot, they meet at the consulate in Barcelona.
80 years later, what conclusions can we draw from Operation Frankton?
“The result is not spectacular, but it is not a failure”, assures Jean-Claude Déranlot. Four German ships are damaged, the Dresden will even be sunk after the intervention of the French firefighters who, under the pretext of fighting the fire, aggravate the damage. The President of Operation Frankton, History and Values continues: “There are a dozen explosions causing damage to German ships, and the occupier who thought he was safe in the port of Bordeaux, wonders what he happens. There is enormous stress on the port. After Frankton, the Germans had to strengthen their defense in Bordeaux. The operation participated in this. The English showed, on their side, that they could strike at the heart of the enemy device.
From Thursday December 8 to Sunday December 11, five crews in two-seater kayaks from the SAMCK association (Sport Athlétique Mérignacais Canoë-Kayak) will travel the historic and integral route of Operation Frankton, from Montalivet to Bordeaux, independently with bivouacs.