Bordeaux Harbour - Les Hangars

On the night of 12 December 1942, four German ships were moored here at the quay. Hasler and Sparks, two commandos of the Royal Marines, had secretly canoed here and detonated so-called Limpet mines. The ships were badly damaged.

Operation Frankton
The Cockleshell Heroes carried out Operation Frankton in December 1942, targeting German ships in Bordeaux. Trained at Lumps Fort in Portsmouth, they paddled 60 miles in collapsible kayaks to lay limpet mines.

Of the ten commandos, two were drowned, six were captured and executed, and only Major Hasler and Marine Sparks escaped. Despite heavy losses, the raid sank two ships and damaged four, disrupting enemy supply lines. Winston Churchill later credited it with shortening the Second World War by six months.

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Source

• Text: TracesofWar
• Photos: Yves Tennevin