British Commando Frogmen - History - 1943

1943

• Operation "Principal":
  • 3 January: The submarines HMS Thunderbolt and HMS P311 carrying two chariots each and HMS Trooper carrying three, with their respective crews, left to carry out this operation, the first by Britain involving the use of chariots. P311 was scheduled to attack targets at La Maddalena, while the other two submarines headed for the coast of Sicily near Palermo in a Force 5 wind.
  • One of the chariots which the Trooper carried was ridden by Sub-Lieutenant Rodney Dove and Leading Seaman Jimmy Freel. As it was launched, a big wave washed it over the submarine, causing the loss of its limpet mines and the gear to attach the warhead to a ship.
  • The chariots put mines on ships and patrol boats and sank some of them, but none of the mines exploded.
  • One chariot put its warhead on the Italian cruiser Ulpio Traiano (under construction), and afterwards smaller explosives on four ships. Ulpio Traiano sank.
  • Dove's chariot (Chariot XVI) put its warhead on the Italian troop ship Viminale (formerly a liner), by tying it to the sternpost with ropes, causing severe damage but not sinking it. While being towed from the harbour for repairs, it was torpedoed by a British submarine and damaged again. Later in the year, while en route for repairs for the second attack, it was sunk by American torpedo boats.
  • Because of bad weather two chariots did not reach the harbour.
  • All the chariots were lost; either scuttled, through equipment malfunction or human error. One charioteer died in the attack. The British submarine Unruffled recovered two others. Five had to land and were taken prisoner. Two of these prisoners later escaped from guards in Rome and hid in the Vatican until the Americans liberated Rome in 1944. Two others, involved in a quite separate operation, see below escaped from guards in Libya. In the middle of Tripoli they found a British Army unit and were returned to England.
  • Dove ended up in a POW camp at Bremen in Germany, and got home in May 1945. He received the DSO. He died on 30 October 2005 aged 84.
• This left eight charioteers with two Chariots on Malta.
• 18 January-19: These two chariots were carried by submarines to attack ships that the Germans were going to be used to block Tripoli harbour. The frogmen arrived too late and a blockship was sunk in the harbour mouth. None of the men or chariots returned to Malta.
• January: At Loch Corrie and Loch Cairnbawn in Scotland more charioteers were being trained.
• 16 April: Britain sent 14 new charioteers to Malta. In the days following they sent the new Chariot Mark II, also called the "Terry". Its riders sat back to back. It could manage 4.5 kn (8.3 km/h). The warhead was 1,100 lb (500 kg) of Torpex high explosive.
• June: During this month, the British submarine HMS Unseen (P51) carried three chariots from Malta to Sicily. The divers surveyed 100 mi (160 km) of coast, examining beaches to find dangers for armies who would be landing there later.
• 11 June: The other British charioteers went to Loch Cairnbawn.
• Late June: Britain sent six more charioteers to Malta, for an operation to attack Taranto.
• 25 June: Mussolini was replaced by Pietro Badoglio as the head of the Italian government. As a result, the attack on Taranto was called off, and the British frogmen were all sent to Scotland. After this, there was only one British chariot attack in the Mediterranean.
• July: At Loch Cairnbawn a charioteer died through an accident.
• 20 September: The British midget submarines known as X-craft set out to attack the German Tirpitz and the Scharnhorst in Kåfjord in Norway. The Scharnhorst was absent but the Tirpitz was damaged in the attack.
• 24 September: Britain sent 4 chariots and 12 charioteers from their Scottish base to Lunna Voe in the Shetlands to train in for operations among the Norwegian islands.
• 14 October: A British torpedo boat carrying two chariots and four charioteers sailed from Lunna Voe to Tevik Bay in Norway and put on land a man called Job to wait until a German ship came, but German aircraft found the torpedo boat and attacked. The torpedo boat had to flee to Britain badly damaged, and it landed at Dunbar in Scotland. Four days later another torpedo boat brought Job back to Shetland.
• October or November: A British torpedo boat carrying two chariots and four charioteers went from Lunna Voe to Nordfjord in Norway and set on land a man to wait until a German ship came. In two days no German ship came, the boat went back to Shetland.
• 11 November: A British torpedo boat carrying two chariots and four charioteers sailed from Lunna Voe to Tevik Bay in Norway and set on land a man to wait until a German ship came to Askvoll harbour. In two days no German ship came. It snowed, and they thought that Askvoll harbour would be blocked with ice. As the torpedo boat returned to Shetland it ditched the chariots because of bad weather, and it brought the charioteers back.
• 31 October: On this day or earlier British and American forces entered Naples.
• October or November: British frogmen went to Brindisi in Italy where they were combined with those Italian frogmen who were in the Allied-controlled areas and those Italian frogmen who had been prisoners in Britain, as a single organization.