Hugh Mackenzie (Royal Navy officer)
Sir Hugh Mackenzie | |
---|---|
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar Distinguished Service Cross |
Educated at the
Mackenzie went on to be commanding officer of the Underwater Detection Establishment at Portland in 1952, commander of the 1st Destroyer Squadron in June 1954 and Chief of Staff to the Flag Officer Submarines in December 1956. After that he became Captain of the Boys' Training Establishment HMS Ganges in January 1959, Flag Officer Submarines in September 1961, and Chief Polaris Executive in spring 1963 before retiring in September 1968.
Early life
Hugh Stirling Mackenzie was born in Inverness, Scotland, on 3 July 1913, the son of Dr Theodore Charles Mackenzie, the medical superintendent of the Inverness District Asylum, and his wife, Margaret (Madge) née Wilson.[1] His home, and birthplace, was Ruigh-Ard, the superintendent's residence. He had two older brothers, Charles and Alec, and a younger sister, Margaret.[2]
At the age of nine, he was sent to
Mackenzie entered the Royal Naval College in January 1927, one of 51 members of the Anson Term, three of whom would not graduate in July 1930. They then received leave that lasted until September, which Mackenzie spent at home with his parents and three siblings at Ruigh-Ard. Due to cutbacks, there was no Cadet Training Cruiser for the class, and they were posted to the fleet for additional training. Mackenzie was posted to the
At the conclusion of his tour of duty in the Mediterranean in July 1933, Mackenzie passed his
Mackenzie was posted to
Second World War
Osiris
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A18076.jpg/220px-The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A18076.jpg)
In April 1939, Mackenzie was posted to HMS Osiris. The boat was almost lost during a test dive when a rivet popped out.[15] On 27 September 1939, Osiris sailed for Malta to join the 1st Submarine Flotilla.[16] She embarked on her first war patrol on 31 May 1940, and was at sea when Italy declared war on the UK on 10 June 1940. On the night of 16 August, Osiris was on her third war patrol, attempting to interdict shipping between Italy and Albania, when she sighted a cargo ship off the Albanian coast. The ship, the 1,970-gross-register-ton (5,600 m3) Morea, was empty and riding high in the water. Two torpedoes were fired at 2,000 yards (1,800 m) range, but apparently passed beneath her. Osiris then closed to within 500 yards (460 m) and fired two more torpedoes, which also missed. She then surfaced and engaged Morea with her deck gun. Despite the brilliant flashes and considerable noise from the deck gun, there was no sign of activity on board, and shells were pumped into Morea until she started to sink.[17][18]
Osiris departed Malta for her next war patrol on 9 September 1940, returning to the same vicinity. She found the area rich with targets moving troops and supplies from Italy to Albania for what would soon be revealed to be the
It was Mackenzie's last patrol in Osiris. He received orders to return to England for the "Perisher", the five-week submarine Commanding Officers Qualifying Course. Because the Mediterranean was closed due to the war, he had to sail round the Cape of Good Hope in the MV Britannic. He was formally declared to have qualified for command of a submarine in February 1941, and assigned to the 7th Submarine Flotilla as a spare commanding officer.[20] On 7 March 1941, he was given temporary command of an old boat used for training, HMS H28. Heading down Lough Foyle in the early morning darkness on 10 March showing navigation lights, she encountered the MV Lairdsbank heading in the opposite direction on the port (incorrect) side. As Lairdsbank approached the submarine, but without sighting it, she suddenly veered to starboard. Mackenzie ordered "full astern", but the two collided. Fortunately, although the bow of H28 was crumpled, the boat remained watertight, and Mackenzie was able to return to Derry for repairs. Lairdsbank suffered no damage and was unaware that there had been a collision. Admiral Max Horton told Mackenzie not to do it again. On 14 April, Mackenzie assumed command of another training boat, HMS H43.[21][22]
Thrasher
In June 1941, Mackenzie received orders to rejoin the Mediterranean Fleet. This time he travelled to Alexandria through the Mediterranean as a passenger on the submarine HMS Rorqual. On 12 October, he assumed command of the submarine HMS Thrasher. A few days later he set out on his first war patrol in her (but Thrasher's fifth), sinking an Italian schooner with the deck gun, and unsuccessfully engaged an Italian minesweeper.[23] On the next patrol, Mackenzie attacked a three-ship convoy on 25 November, sinking the 3,150-gross-register-ton (8,900 m3) Italian cargo ship Attilio Deffenu with a torpedo. Thrasher had orders to insert a party of Yugoslav agents under the command of Stanislav Rapotec, but the mission was cancelled and Thrasher returned them to Alexandria. Thrasher set out again in January 1942, and found a large ship with an escort. Failing to gain a firing position, Mackenzie surfaced, overtook them, and attacked, sinking the 5,000-gross-register-ton (14,000 m3) Italian cargo ship Fedora.[21][24]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Damage_to_the_casing_of_HM_Submarine_THRASHER_after_two_bombs_struck_her_off_Crete_on_the_night_of_15-16_February_1942._Neither_exploded_and_both_were_removed_by_two_members_of_the_crew._A8710.jpg/220px-thumbnail.jpg)
Thrasher set out on her eighth war patrol on 13 February 1942. Off
Lieutenant Roberts and Petty Officer Gould volunteered to remove the bombs, which were of a type unknown to them. The danger in dealing with the second bomb was very great. To reach it they had to go through the casing which was so low that they had to lie at full length to move in it. Through this narrow space, in complete darkness, they pushed and dragged the bomb for a distance of some 20 feet until it could be lowered over the side. Every time the bomb was moved there was a loud twanging noise as of a broken spring which.added nothing to their peace of mind. This deed was the more gallant as HMS Thrasher's presence was known to the enemy; she was close to the enemy coast, and in waters where his patrols were known to be active day and night. There was a very great chance, and they knew it, that the submarine might have to crash-dive while they were in the casing. Had this happened they must have been drowned.[27]
On reading the patrol report, Admiral Andrew Cunningham ordered Mackenzie to write up the incident for gallantry awards to Roberts and Gould.[25] They were awarded the Victoria Cross.[27]
On 9 April, Mackenzie attacked a convoy. He fired a salvo of three torpedoes at the 1,029-gross-register-ton (2,910 m3) Italian merchant ship Gala. Although he observed a hit, he saw no evidence that it had sunk. It had. He attacked another small convoy on 13 April, sinking the 2,297-gross-register-ton (6,500 m3) German army cargo ship Atlas, which was struck by two torpedoes from a three torpedo salvo. Escort vessels dropped 19 depth charges on Thrasher. When she came up to periscope depth, Mackenzie saw one escort and a lighter. The escort left to rejoin the convoy, and Mackenzie surfaced in broad daylight and sank the lighter, the Italian Pilo 210 with his deck gun. On her tenth patrol, Mackenzie attacked the Italian armed merchant cruiser Brioni on 16 May, but she spotted the torpedoes and evaded them. Three days later he attacked and sank the 1,160-gross-register-ton (3,300 m3) Italian merchant ship Penelope. On her eleventh war patrol, Mackenzie sighted two cargo ships escorted by the
After repairs were effected, Thrasher set out again in September. Responding to a report from a shadowing Vickers Wellington bomber of an enemy ship escorted by two destroyers, Thrasher raced to intercept them on 4 September. This was the 1,589-gross-register-ton (4,500 m3) Italian merchant ship Padenna, escorted by the Castore and Lupo. Mackenzie lined up an attack, but was thwarted at the last minute by the escorts. He then fired a salvo of three torpedoes from the stern torpedo tubes. Two hit, and the Wellington pilot reported that the ship blew up. On the next patrol Mackenzie sank a couple of schooners with gunfire on 12 October, the Italian tugboat Roma on 19 October, and the 1,980-gross-register-ton (5,600 m3) Italian merchant ship Lero on 20 October. Thrasher made an abortive attack on two merchant ships on 25 October, and was subjected to a severe depth charging by the two escorts, but managed to get away.[21][29]
This was Mackenzie's last war patrol in Thrasher, which now returned to the UK.
Tantalus
On 2 April 1943, Mackenzie assumed command of the submarine
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/HMS_Tantalus.jpg/220px-HMS_Tantalus.jpg)
As the picking seemed slim, the decision was taken to form a new submarine flotilla, the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based at
With Mackenzie back in command on the next war patrol, Tantalus attacked a convoy on 2 November. He torpedoed and sank the 1,915-gross-register-ton (5,420 m3) Japanese cargo ship Hachijin Maru, and damaged one of the escorts, the Japanese submarine chaser Ch-1. He also sank a small Japanese coaster, Pahang Maru on 7 November that was heading to Bangkok with 75 drums of oil fuel and 9 drums of lubricating oil. Tantalus plucked eleven survivors from the water: nine Malays, a Chinese and a Japanese soldier. The Malays were transferred to the next junk Tantalus encountered, while the other two were taken to Australia, where the Japanese soldier was handed over to the Australian Army. On 21 November Tantalus landed a party on Merapas Island in support of Operation Rimau, but the commandos that they expected to find were not there.[36]
In January 1945, Tantalus conducted a 55-day patrol covering 11,692 miles (18,816 km), making it the longest patrol of any British submarine during the war.[28][1] The vessels sunk were small, and at one point ten Chinese and two Japanese were picked up from a fishing boat that Tantalus sank. The big game was sighted on 11 February 1945: the Japanese battleship-carriers Ise and Hyūga and the light cruiser Ōyodo, escorted by the destroyers Kasumi, Asashimo and Hatsushimo, bound for Japan. Unfortunately, Mackenzie was unable to manoeuvre Tantalus into a firing position.[21] Tantalus returned home in March 1945.[37] Mackenzie was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on 19 June 1945.[38]
Post-war career
Mackenzie was posted to Derry, where he was part of a group of submariners in charge of about fifty German Type VII, Type IX and Type XXI U-boats that had surrendered. While there, he met Third Officer Helen Maureen Bradish-Ellames, a Women's Royal Naval Service officer who worked on the staff in Derry. In January 1946, with the war over, he became an instructor on the Perisher course.[39] He was promoted to commander on 12 July 1946, with seniority of 30 June 1946.[40] He married Maureen Bradish-Ellames on 10 August 1946;[39] they had a son and two daughters.[28]
In January 1948, Mackenzie became staff Officer, Operations, (SOO) on the staff of the Flag Officer Submarines, Rear Admiral Sir John Mansfield, despite having never attended the staff college course.[41] After so many years in submarines, he expressed a desire to return to the surface navy in 1950, and was posted to the cruiser HMS Liverpool, the flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, as its executive officer.[42] He was promoted to captain on 31 December 1951.[43]
Mackenzie's next assignment was as commanding the Underwater Detection Establishment (UDE), a post normally held by an anti-submarine specialist rather than a submariner
Promoted to rear admiral on 7 July 1961,[21] Mackenzie became Flag Officer Submarines in September 1961.[45] He visited Australia in March 1962, and inspected the submarines of the 4th Submarine Flotilla based there, HMS Tabard, Tapir and Trump.[49] He warned the Australian government that Britain could no longer afford to maintain submarines in Australia, and recommended that Australia acquire its own submarines, preferably nuclear-powered. The advice did not go down well, but within a few years the British boats were withdrawn, and the Royal Australian Navy acquired diesel-powered Oberon-class submarines to replace them.[50]
Mackenzie's tenure as Flag Officer Submarines was brief. On 26 December 1962 he was notified that he would be appointed the Chief Polaris Executive (CPE).[51] He described this as "the most strenuous five years of my whole career, but also in the end the most satisfying, because of their direct contribution to the ultimate defence of this country."
Later life
Mackenzie retired on 20 September 1968.
Mackenzie published his memoirs, titled The Sword of Damocles, in 1995. On 28 March 1996, he attended a ceremony at the submarine base at
Notes
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/63263. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, p. 9.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 14–16.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 18–27.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 40–42.
- ^ "No. 34101". The London Gazette. 2 November 1934. p. 6982.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 43–45.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 46–49.
- ^ "No. 34216". The London Gazette. 5 November 1935. p. 6974.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 63–65.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 66–69.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 70–71.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 71–74.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, p. 78.
- ^ a b Mackenzie 1995, pp. 85–86.
- ^ a b Hezlet, Vice Admiral Sir Arthur. "British and Allied Submarine Operations in World War II". Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (13 September 2017). "Why did one of the U.S. Navy's most advanced subs return to port with a pirate flag?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 88–94.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Hugh Stirling Mackenzie". U Boat.net. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 96–97.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 106–107.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 107–111.
- ^ a b Mackenzie 1995, pp. 2–6.
- ^ Roskill 1956, pp. 49–50.
- ^ a b "No. 35591". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1942. p. 2548.
- ^ a b c d "Sir Hugh Mackenzie". Herald Scotland. 19 October 1996. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ a b Mackenzie 1995, pp. 125–126.
- ^ "No. 35613". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 26 June 1942. p. 2866.
- ^ "No. 36227". The London Gazette. 29 October 1943. p. 4778.
- ^ "No. 35870". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 15 January 1943. p. 395.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 131–132.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, p. 140.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 147–148.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 151–153.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 154–157.
- ^ "No. 37136". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 15 June 1945. p. 3189.
- ^ a b Mackenzie 1995, pp. 158–159.
- ^ "No. 37650". The London Gazette. 12 July 1946. p. 3629.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, p. 163.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 167–168.
- ^ "No. 39435". The London Gazette. 8 January 1952. p. 194.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, p. 179.
- ^ a b c "Senior Royal Navy Appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 185–186.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 192–193.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, p. 196.
- ^ "Britain's Submarine Chief visits Australia". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, p. 201.
- ^ Nailor 1988, pp. 10–12.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, p. 204.
- ^ Nailor 1988, pp. 27–29.
- ^ "No. 42870". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 28 December 1962. p. 2.
- ^ "No. 43451". The London Gazette. 2 October 1964. p. 8293.
- ^ "No. 44004". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 3 June 1966. p. 6530.
- ^ McGeoch, Ian (17 October 1996). "Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Mackenzie: Obituary". The Independent.
- ^ "No. 44681". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 20 September 1968. p. 10265.
- ^ Mackenzie 1995, pp. 249–250.