Operation Franklin

Operation Franklin was a commando raid by 12 men in kayaks on the French port of Bordeaux in 1942. Only two of the men would survive the mission as most were captured afterwards by the Germans and executed. The special boat service as they were later called, traveled more than 50 miles upriver with kayaks full of explosives to plant mines on Axis ships. One kayak was lost after launch in the ocean due to 5 ft waves. The a Special Boat Service would later be formed and this branch fought with the Delta Force at the battle of Tora Bora in Afghanistan. It takes valor to get in a kayak full of explosives on a one way mission.