Too Magnificent for Words
Only one Victoria Cross was earned under fire in a German air attack and became the second VC awarded for action in Britain itself. It was the only one awarded for action on a Royal Navy ship in home waters.
With the capitulation of France in the early summer of 1940, and the subsequent withdrawal from Dunkirk, it became clear that one of Germany’s aims was the strangulation of Britain’s supplies by attacking ports and shipping. As an island nation, the importance of protecting Britain’s maritime lifeline was paramount, and in the early days of the war, thought was given to the protection of those assets; to that end, many merchant vessels were commandeered for Royal Navy service. One of them the 5,582-ton MV Foylebank.
Built in 1930, Foylebank was requisitioned in September 1939 for conversion to an anti-aircraft ship. In her new role, she was fitted out with multiple 0.5-inch machine guns, two x Quad 2-pounder ‘Pom Pom’ guns and four x twin high angle 4-inch turrets.
Commissioned on 6 June 1940 as HMS Foylebank, she made her way to Portland in Dorset three days later to be readied for operational duties under Captain H P Weir. It was at Portland that Foylebank came under devastating air attack which saw extraordinary bravery by one of her crew.
With reconnaissance flights confirming Foylebank’s presence, an attack by the Luftwaffe’s Stuka force was ordered, and on 4 July 1940, the Junkers 87 dive-bombers of III./St G 51 struck shortly after 08.15 hours. In total, 26 aircraft took part, the Stukas diving on Foylebank before her gun crews had time to react to the ‘Action Stations!’ alert - which many of her crew thought was another drill in the ‘working-up’ routine.
Unlike many of the Stuka’s shipping targets, Foylebank was a sitting duck – stationary, and in harbour. There was no question of taking avoiding action, and bombs struck her 22 times; 250kg and 50kg missiles rained down in salvos, 104 in total. Other bombs fell close to Foylebank, causing blast and splinter damage, one hitting Foylebank’s tender tied up alongside, blowing it to matchwood.
On board Foylebank it was sheer carnage. In minutes, 176 Royal Navy sailors were killed out of a total crew of 298 – the greatest loss of life on a Royal Navy ship in home waters. HMS
Foylebank was also set on fire. She sank the next day.
In her final moments as an operational vessel, however, some gunners got to their stations and readied to fire. However, such was the surprise of the raid, and so quickly was it all over, that (of the main armament) only the ship’s ‘Y’ four-inch gun was able to fire, getting off twenty 27 rounds from the port barrel and 28 from the starboard. Meanwhile, Leading Seaman Jack Mantle was battling with his crew to get their Pom-Pom guns to bear on the enemy.
In their attack, the Stuka’s method was to dive steeply, up to 90°, towards the stern of the ship. At around 1,500ft, the angle was decreased to 45° and the pilot lined up on the target’s stern, firing twin 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns. Gradually, the bullets moved along the length of the ship. When the pilot saw his bullets striking the water ahead of the ship’s bow, so the bombs were released. In this way, gunfire was an aid to sighting as well as keeping down the defender’s heads.
‘SLUMPED OVER HIS GUN’
As the Stukas pulled away, the rear gunners took over machine gunning to supress anti-aircraft fire. And when the Stukas dived on Foylebank, they raked her with high explosive and bullets, continuously, for several minutes – just as gun crews raced along exposed decks and gangways, and up ladders, to get to their stations. Some were lucky to escape. Others were cut down by machine gun bullets and splinters or were caught by direct bomb hits.
Standing in his exposed position, Mantle was getting his guns to bear against another attack. However, he had already been seriously wounded by bomb splinters, and as he opened fire, so did the pilot of a diving Stuka. The heroic sailor immediately fell across his gun, mortally wounded. Lifted down from his battle-scarred station, soaked in blood, Mantle was taken to Portland Hospital where the 23-year-old seaman from Wandsworth died later that day.
Of Mantle’s action, Captain H P Wilson reported to C-in-C Portsmouth, who, on receiving Wilson’s report, was moved to remark that Mantle “…behaved too magnificently for words.” One who was there was Ron Walsh: “When the attack came, I didn’t have time to give it a second thought. So much was still happening. Making my way towards the bows, I reached amidships where the passageway between the engine room bulkhead and starboard guardrail had been reduced to about 8 feet in width. I stopped as there was a pile of bodies in the way. ‘Push your way through them, or walk over them, they’re all dead!’ said Petty Officer Sansome, the Gunnery PO, who was standing in the gangway just before the starboard ‘Pom Pom’ mounting.
“As I came up to him, I saw there four others waiting and he told me to: ‘…stay with them, Mantle hasn’t finished yet. When he has, we’ll need to get him down and over the side into one of those boats.’
“A bomb had exploded near Mantle’s gun, killing and injuring some of his gun crew. He himself had a shattered left leg but dragged himself up to the gun and prepared to engage the enemy. One raider dropped his bomb and was now readying to attack again with machine guns - having turned over the Mole and headed back towards us. Jack Mantle, although in great pain, had the barrels of his guns trained on the incoming enemy and was struggling to pull back the ‘change-over’ lever on top of the gun, to move it from ‘Electrics’ to ‘HandFiring’ as we’d lost all electrical power when the first bombs hit. The lever had been slightly bent by blast, and he was cursing as the range rapidly closed. Then, in the last seconds, the enemy gunner and Mantle both opened fire together.
“Mantle was slumped over his gun, either due to his former wounds or the Stuka’s machine gun fire. I can’t say which. What I am sure of is that Leading Seaman Mantle was still alive then. He was a bloody hero. No doubt of that!”
Leading Seaman Peter Davies, one of Mantle’s gun crew, was even better placed than Walsh to comment:
“Our gun crew was in action from almost the start of the attack, but moments after we opened fired a bomb exploded nearby. We were all blasted by the explosion, and I couldn’t hear anything. I’d also been hit by bullets, but only realised this later. The gun position was now tilting outboard at a crazy angle. When I collected my senses a bit, I realised with horror that four of our crew were dead. I’d been hit by splinters, but one of our crew, Johnny Millen, had lost a leg. Mantle was badly hurt but went back to his post and started firing again. Then, both he and I were hit by machine gun bullets from another attacker and Jack was done for. In my state, there wasn’t anything I could do. The ship had been hit by multiple bombs and was listing quite badly and burning. I’ll never forget that all along the port side the bodies were heaped up, six-deep in places. One thing, though. I don’t know how Jack managed to keep going. He’d been badly hit in the leg, was losing lots of blood and was hit, twice I think, by machine gun bullets. He deserved that medal alright.”
Notwithstanding Jack’s Mantle’s courage, there was no effective defence by HMS Foylebank - simply because the ship was not at battlestations when the sudden attack came without warning. Although an antiaircraft ship, Foylebank had been sunk by air attack; the very attack against which she was designed to defend. However, two Stukas were lost as the result of anti-aircraft fire during the attack.
The possibility that these aircraft might have fallen to Jack Mantle’s gunnery cannot be excluded.
…all along the port side the bodies were heaped up, six-deep in places… I don’t know how Jack managed to keep going. He’d been badly hit in the leg, was losing lots of blood and was hit, twice I think, by machine gun bullets. Leading Seaman Peter Davies, HMS Foylebank