Operation Frankton was a commando raid on ships in the German occupied French port of Bordeaux in southwest France during the Second World War. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD), part of Combined Operations inserted by HMS Tuna captained by Lieutenant-Commander Dick Raikes who, earlier, had been awarded the DSO for operations while in command of the submarine HMS Seawolf (47S).
(The RMBPD would later form the Special Boat Service.)
Tannenfels, a German blockade runner which was sunk in Bordeaux harbour by limpet mines from the Frankton team
Cockles MK II
Monument commemorating Operation Frankton in Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, near Royan.
Operation Frankton was described as 'This brilliant little operation carried through with great determinism and courage..." by Louis Mountbatten
The Royal Marines, also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, and officially as the Corps of Royal Marines, are the United Kingdom's amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, and provide a company strength unit to the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG). The Royal Marines trace their origins back to the formation of the "Duke of York and Albany's maritime regiment of Foot" on 28 October 1664, and the first Royal Marines Commando unit was formed at Deal in Kent on 14 February 1942 and designated "The Royal Marine Commando".
Major General John Tupper His Majesty's Marine Forces
Private of Marines, 1815
Royal Marines parade in the streets of Chania, Cretan State, in spring 1897, following British occupation during the Greco-Turkish War
British Commandos in action during Operation Archery, Norway