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| Malcolm David Wanklyn | |
|---|---|
| Name | Malcolm David Wanklyn |
| Birth date | 1911-11-13 |
| Birth place | Bristol |
| Death date | 1942-04-14 |
| Death place | Mediterranean Sea |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Serviceyears | 1929–1942 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Unit | Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, HMS Triumph (as training), HMS H28, HMS Truant, HMS Upholder |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Malcolm David Wanklyn was a British Royal Navy submarine commander credited with notable exploits during the Second World War. He commanded HMS Upholder (N99) in the Mediterranean Sea and received the Victoria Cross posthumously for a daring action that disrupted Axis maritime logistics. His career intersected with major Mediterranean operations and figures from Admiralty command to Allied naval warfare planners.
Wanklyn was born in Bristol into a family with connections to Gloucestershire and was educated at Blundell's School and later received naval training at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and HMS Excellent. His formative years placed him among contemporaries who later served in the Royal Navy and met officers from institutions such as Royal Naval College, Greenwich and trainees from Britannia Royal Naval College. Early influences included veterans of the First World War and instructors involved in interwar developments at Admiralty establishments and training ships like HMS Vernon.
Wanklyn entered the Royal Navy in 1929 and served in various submarines and surface postings associated with interwar fleets, including postings linked to China Station and Home Fleet exercises. He gained experience with submariners trained at HMS Dolphin and collaborated with officers from flotillas such as the 4th Submarine Flotilla and staff linked to Mediterranean Fleet command. During the early stages of the Second World War, Wanklyn commanded several boats, undertaking operations coordinated with assets from Royal Air Force reconnaissance units and convoys protected by escorts drawn from Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy units. He became commanding officer of HMS Upholder (N99), operating from bases tied to Malta and cooperating with commands including Admiralty planners, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, and liaison with Allied Force Headquarters directives.
Wanklyn's award of the Victoria Cross stemmed from an audacious patrol in the Mediterranean Sea where he attacked a heavily escorted Axis supply convoy that was critical to North African Campaign logistics supporting forces such as the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel. During the action he penetrated screens of Regia Marina escorts and vessels connected to ports like Tripoli, Benghazi, and Tobruk, engaging ships that were part of shipping lines to Axis convoys. The engagement involved tactical coordination akin to actions referenced in operations like Operation Pedestal and mirrored interdiction efforts by Allied submarines and surface units coordinated with intelligence from Ultra decrypts and Naval Intelligence Division assessments. His conduct drew recognition from senior figures including Admiral Sir Dudley Pound and had tactical ramifications for commanders such as General Bernard Montgomery and supply planners supporting the Eighth Army.
After continued operations, Wanklyn's career encountered the hazards common to submarine warfare in the Mediterranean theatre, with threats from Regia Aeronautica aircraft, Fascist Italy naval forces, and German Luftwaffe reconnaissance coordinating with Kriegsmarine units. Captured crews from other boats and encounters with Axis anti-submarine efforts, including tactics similar to those employed in actions around Sicily and Crete, illustrate the environment in which he operated. Wanklyn ultimately was lost at sea during a patrol; the circumstances involved enemy countermeasures comparable to those used in engagements like the Battle of the Mediterranean and anti-submarine campaigns directed by commands in Rome and Berlin. His loss was recorded alongside other notable submarine casualties such as commanders of HMS Upholder (N99), HMS Phoenix, and boats running supply interdiction sorties supporting operations tied to Operation Crusader.
Wanklyn married and maintained connections with families and institutions across Bristol and Devon, associating with communities involved in memorials maintained by organizations like the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and commemorative efforts by the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Imperial War Museum. His Victoria Cross is displayed and commemorated in contexts alongside awards to contemporaries such as Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Wanklyn VC's peers and other submarine VCs like commanders from HMS Triumph and HMS Thunderbolt. Commemorations include plaques, memorials, and mentions in naval histories authored by historians connected to institutions such as National Maritime Museum, Chatham Dockyard Museum, and academic studies from King's College London and University of Portsmouth. His operational record influenced postwar analyses by former commanders like Sir Max Horton and contributed to doctrinal reviews within submarine branches, cited in works produced by Naval Staff Operational Intelligence Centre researchers and preserved in collections at archives like the National Archives and papers relating to the Admiralty campaigns.
Category:Royal Navy officers Category:Recipients of the Victoria Cross Category:British submariners Category:1911 births Category:1942 deaths