Ten men paddled kayaks into Nazi-occupied France to sink ships, but only two returned.

Countries & Cities · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In December 1942, a small team of Royal Marines launched a daring commando raid on the port of Bordeaux. Using folding canvas kayaks, they navigated 60 miles of hostile waters to plant mines on German cargo ships. The mission was a tactical success, but it ended in tragedy for most involved.

Operation Frankton was a clandestine mission conceived by Major Herbert "Blondie" Hasler of the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment. The plan involved twelve men paddling six folding Mark II kayaks, nicknamed "Cockles," from the Gironde estuary to Bordeaux to sabotage German shipping. The team faced immense peril, including strong tides, minefields, and constant surveillance by the Kriegsmarine. During the deployment from the submarine HMS Tuna, one kayak was damaged, reducing the force to ten men. As they navigated the river, the team suffered further losses: one kayak vanished, another capsized, and two men died of hypothermia.

Upon reaching Bordeaux on 11 December 1942, Hasler and Marine Bill Sparks, the only survivors of the raid, successfully placed limpet mines on four vessels. Simultaneously, Corporal Albert Laver and Marine William Mills targeted ships at Bassens. The explosions caused significant chaos and damaged six ships, including the blockade runner Tannenfels, which eventually sank. Despite the damage, the mission was marred by poor inter-agency coordination; the British Special Operations Executive had a separate team in the area, unaware of the raid, which could have led to a more devastating combined strike.

The aftermath was brutal. Eight of the ten raiders were captured and executed under the Commando Order, a German directive that denied prisoners of war status to commandos. Hasler and Sparks, however, escaped overland to Spain with the help of the French Resistance, reaching the town of Ruffec before crossing the Pyrenees. Their survival was only confirmed in February 1943. While the raid was later romanticized in film and literature, the reality was a harrowing display of endurance and sacrifice that ultimately led to the creation of a new Whitehall office to prevent future inter-departmental conflict and duplication.

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