British Raiders Stole Three Enemy Vessels While Their Officers Were Enjoying a Dinner Party

On the night of the 14th of January 1942, British raiders were preparing to steal three enemy vessels from a harbour off the coast of West Africa. There was one serious problem. The ships were anchored in Spanish territory, and Spain was neutral during the Second World War. If the British were caught, there could be serious diplomatic consequences.

The harbour was at Santa Isabel on the island of Fernando Po, now known as Bioko. Among the vessels anchored there was the Italian merchant ship Duchessa d'Aosta, which had taken refuge when Italy entered the war in June 1940. Nearby were two smaller German vessels, the tug Likomba and the barge Bibundi. British intelligence had been watching them for some time.

The plan was organised by the Special Operations Executive, with Major Gus March-Phillipps commanding the raiding force. An agent named Richard Lippett had been working on the island, gathering information about the ships and their crews. He discovered that the officers enjoyed social gatherings ashore, and this gave the British an idea. Why not arrange a dinner party to keep them occupied while the raid took place?

On the 11th of January, two British tugs, Vulcan and Nuneaton, left Lagos in Nigeria carrying the raiding party. During the journey, the men practised boarding ships and using folding kayaks. Their instructions were to enter the harbour after dark, board the three vessels and tow them away before anyone could organise a defence.

Late on the 14th of January, the tugs approached Santa Isabel. Ashore, twelve Italian officers and two German officers were enjoying their evening at the dinner party. Meanwhile, the British raiders entered the harbour and began boarding the vessels. Explosive charges were attached to the anchor chains, and tow ropes were secured. The remaining crewmen offered little resistance, and the raiders managed to capture all three vessels without firing a shot.

By the early hours of the 15th of January, the British were towing their prizes out to sea. HMS Violet was later involved in intercepting the vessels offshore, helping to support the British account that they had been captured outside Spanish waters. The Spanish authorities were furious when they discovered what had happened, and Britain faced accusations of violating their neutrality.

The operation, codenamed Postmaster, had succeeded. The Duchessa d'Aosta was later brought into British service under the name Empire Yukon. It had been a daring gamble, and one that could easily have gone wrong. But a dinner party, two tugs and a small group of determined men had been enough to carry it off.

Image info:

State Library of Queensland / Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain. Italian merchant ship SS Duchessa d’Aosta, later captured during Operation Postmaster in January 1942.