Military Operations
Operation Frankton
Modern
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Operation Frankton was a British commando raid by the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment against German-occupied Bordeaux, France, in December 1942. Twelve men in six folding kayaks were carried to the Gironde estuary by the submarine HMS Tuna, then paddled roughly 100 kilometres to Bordeaux harbour, where they attached limpet mines to docked cargo ships before attempting to escape overland to Spain. Six ships were damaged; six of the ten raiders who landed were captured and executed, and two died of hypothermia, with only two reaching safety.
Facts
Operation TypeSpecial-forces raid (maritime sabotage) 1 LocationBordeaux, German-occupied France 1 ParticipantsRoyal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment, Combined Operations Headquarters, submarine HMS Tuna 1 ObjectiveSink German-used cargo ships in Bordeaux harbour using limpet mines carried in by canoe 1 OutcomeSix ships were damaged, two of them sunk; six raiders were captured and executed by the Germans, two died of hypothermia, and only two escaped to Spain 1 Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.