Wanklyn (left) with his first lieutenant and senior engineer J. R. D Drummond (right), 13 January 1942[a]
Nickname(s)
Wanks
Born
(1911-06-28)28 June 1911 Kolkata, British India
Died
14 April 1942(1942-04-14) (aged 30) Mediterranean Sea
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch
Royal Navy
Years of service
1925–1942
Rank
Lieutenant Commander
Unit
Royal Navy Submarine Service
Commands held
HMS Upholder (1940–42) HMS H31 (1940)
Battles/wars
Second World War
Battle of the Mediterranean
Siege of Malta
Operation Excess
Operation Substance
Battle of the Duisburg Convoy
Awards
Victoria Cross Distinguished Service Order & Two Bars
Lieutenant Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn, VC, DSO & Two Bars (28 June 1911 – missing in action 14 April 1942) was a Royal Navy commander and one of the most successful submariners in the Western Allied navies during the Second World War. Wanklyn and his crew sank 16 enemy vessels.
Born in 1911 to an affluent family in Kolkata, British India, Wanklyn was influenced into a military career at a young age. His father was a successful businessman and engineer who served in the British Army in the First World War and his uncle was a destroyer commander who had a successful war fighting German U-boats in the First Battle of the Atlantic.
Wanklyn developed a seafaring interest at the age of five and applied to join the Royal Navy aged 14. Despite some physical ailments, he was able to pass the selection boards. He progressed as commissioned officer fairly quickly and by 1931 had been promoted to sub-lieutenant and lieutenant two years later in 1933. After serving on a variety of surface ships, he joined the submarine service.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, Wanklyn was given command of HMS H31 which he commanded from February until August 1940. Wanklyn sailed on patrol in the North Sea, during which he sank one vessel. In August 1940 he was given command of newly commissioned HMS Upholder. In December 1940 the submarine was reassigned to the Mediterranean. Wanklyn began the first of his patrols in January 1941 and remained on operations in the Battle of the Mediterranean for the remainder of his career.
During 15 months of operations, Wanklyn led Upholder on 27 patrols and sank 11 Axis merchant and troopships while damaging four more. During his combat career he fought many actions with Regia Marina (Italian Navy) warships. He sank one destroyer and one minesweeper, and damaged a light cruiser. In a rare achievement, he also sank three Italian submarines. It amounted to 128,353 tons of enemy shipping.[2] For the sinking of the heavily defended enemy transport SS Conte Rosso without working Asdic, he received the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be bestowed upon personnel in the British and Commonwealth forces.
On 14 April 1942, while on his 28th patrol, Wanklyn and his crew disappeared. He was posted missing in action. His exact fate remains unknown. Research suggests Upholder was sunk by a combination of an Italian warship and German aircraft. In 1986 the Royal Navy launched another submarine of the same name. The Upholder/Victoria-class submarine HMS Upholder served until 1994 when it was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Chicoutimi. It remains operational.
^Allaway 2004, p. 140.
^Hart 2008, p. 161.
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Lieutenant Commander Malcolm DavidWanklyn, VC, DSO & Two Bars (28 June 1911 – missing in action 14 April 1942) was a Royal Navy commander and one of...
for Bradford Central Malcolm DavidWanklyn, recipient of the Victoria Cross This page lists people with the surname Wanklyn. If an internal link intending...
20 July 2007 (accessed 2009 April 20) Helgason, Guðmundur. "Malcolm DavidWanklyn VC, DSO, RN". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Naval Institute Press...
submarine. She served in World War II. Her captain was Lieutenant Commander DavidWanklyn, who received the Victoria Cross whilst in command of the vessel. HMS...
scientist David Wanigasekera (1860-1955), Sri Lankan Sinhala businessman and politician DavidWanklyn (1911–1942), British military officer David Wansbrough...
dancer, educator and author (d. 2003) Lieutenant Commander Malcolm DavidWanklyn, British naval officer (MIA 1942) June 29 Bernard Herrmann, American...
Jim (1991). Hero of the Upholder: The Story of Lieutenant Commander M.D. Wanklyn VC, DSO (1st ed.). Shrewsbury, England: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1853102180...
Tripoli. Of the 2,729 soldiers and crew aboard, 1,297 were killed. DavidWanklyn List by death toll of ships sunk by submarines "Conte Rosso (5605814)"...
targets. Tembien was spotted by Lieutenant Commander DavidWanklyn's submarine HMS Upholder. Two of Wanklyn's torpedoes struck the Tembien, causing her to sink...
the start of the First World War, it was occupied by the Wanklyn family; the young DavidWanklyn later became the Allies' most successful submarine commander...
Greaves 2004. Noble 1797, p. 424. Wanklyn 2015, pp. 47–48. Wanklyn 2014, p. 109. Wanklyn 2015, p. 48. Plant, David. "Colonel Edward Harley's Regiment...
Wedgwood 1958, p. 281. Wanklyn & Jones 2005, p. 139. Nagel 1982, pp. 145–148. Nagel 1982, p. 150. Wanklyn & Jones 2005, p. 140. Wanklyn & Jones 2005, pp. 142–143...
OL 24032712M. Wallace, David C. (2013). Twenty-Two Turbulent Years 1639-1661. Upfront Publishing. ISBN 978-1780356600. Wanklyn, Malcolm (2014). "Choosing...
Wedgwood 1970, pp. 167–68, 506–07 Wedgwood 1970, p. 209 Wanklyn & Jones 2005, p. 74 Wanklyn & Jones 2005, p. 103 Young & Holmes 1974, p. 151 Gentles...
Van Woesik 1992 Louise Bonham (4) Terry Schneider Erin Christie 1991 Jan Wanklyn Louise Bonham Tina Bischoff 1990 Sally Belyea Jenny Bonnett Melinda Mentha...
Human Rights: A Philosophical Approach (London: Routledge, 2014), 114. Wanklyn, Alastair (April 14, 2016). "Japan human rights improve but problems persist:...
2006, p. 68. Edwards 2002, p. 258. Royle 2005, p. 579. Reid 2008, p. 57. Wanklyn 2019, p. 138. Brooks 2005, p. 516. Royle 2005, p. 581. Reese 2006, pp. 96–97...
operational decisions and decisive battlefield events (as argued by Malcolm Wanklyn), or rather Parliament's long-run superiority in manpower and money (as...
Upholder, commanded for its entire career by Lieutenant-Commander Malcolm Wanklyn. He received the Victoria Cross for attacking a well-defended convoy on...
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