UK commando raids and naval battle of Phuket in 1945

COPP (Combined Operations Pilotage Parties) reconnaissance missions on Phuket Island in March 1945, not the later naval strikes of Operation Livery July 1945. 

These were clandestine beach surveys ahead of potential Allied landings in Thailand, and they were among the most dangerous and unusual COPP operations in Southeast Asia.

COPP Raids on Phuket – March 1945

Two simultaneous missions were launched:

1. Operation Baboon

  • Unit: COPP 3

  • Objective: Survey the beach and airfield near what is now Phuket International Airport

  • Team: Included an RAF officer—unusual for COPP

  • Method: Landed by canoe, then hid ashore for multiple days (rather than returning to submarines nightly)

  • Tools: Cameras, Abney levels—rare for COPP, indicating a focus on airfield suitability

2. Operation Copyright

  • Unit: Detachment 385 (Royal Marines, part of Small Operations Group)

  • Objective: Reconnoitre a beach and inland site for a temporary airfield, further south

  • Team: Included COPP’s Ian Mackenzie and another RAF officer

  • Tactics: Same as Baboon—daylight surveys while hiding ashore

    Challenges & Casualties

  • Thai forces fired on one landing party

  • Civilians were numerous—making stealth nearly impossible

  • COPP 3 reverted to night operations mid-mission

    Casualties:

  • 3 killed: ‘Johnny’ Johns, Fred Cammidge (COPP), Brian Brownlie (Detachment 385)

  • 4 captured: Mackenzie (COPP), Reg Atkinson (385), RAF officers Norman Guthrie & Bertie Brown

  • 2 executed: John Maxwell and Ernest Smith (385), later killed by Japanese forces

Strategic Context

  • Phuket was seen as a potential Allied landing site or airbase for operations into Malaya and Thailand

  • These raids were part of broader intelligence-gathering efforts in the region, anticipating Japan’s collapse

Operation Livery, the British naval action off Phuket Island in July 1945, one of the final Allied operations in Southeast Asia during WWII.

Operation Livery – 24–27 July 1945

Objective:

  • Provide air cover for minesweeping in the Strait of Malacca

  • Strike Japanese airfields and installations in southern Thailand and northern Malaya

  • Serve as a deception operation, suggesting a possible Allied landing in Thailand

Forces Involved:

  • British Eastern Fleet, including:

    • Aircraft carriers: HMS Ameer, HMS Empress

    • Battleship: HMS Nelson

    • Cruiser: HMS Sussex

    • Minesweepers: 4th and 7th Flotillas

    • Aircraft: Grumman Hellcats (804 & 808 Naval Air Squadrons)

Combat Highlights

  • Over 150 sorties flown against Japanese targets on Phuket Island and nearby airfields

  • 30+ grounded Japanese aircraft destroyed

  • Kamikaze attacks:

    • One struck HMS Vestal, forcing her to be scuttled - last RN loss in WW2

    • Another targeted HMS Ameer but was shot down

  • HMS Squirrel hit a mine and was also scuttled

Strategic Significance

  • Marked the last combat action of the British Eastern Fleet in WWII

  • Demonstrated British naval-air capability in the Pacific, just weeks before Japan’s surrender

  • Helped clear the way for Operation Tiderace, the reoccupation of Singapore in August 1945

The wreck of HMS Vestal has been located and dived by technical teams off the coast of Phuket, Thailand. Here's what we know:

Wreck Location – HMS Vestal

  • Coordinates: Latitude: 7°41.531′ N Longitude: 98°15.573′ E (WGS84 datum, near Phuket’s southwestern coast)

  • Depth: ~72 meters (236 feet)

  • Orientation: Upright on a sandy seabed

  • Condition: Intact but heavily netted; explosive ordnance still present

  • Access: Trimix diving only—this is a deep, technical wreck

Nearby Wreck – HMS Squirrel

  • Location: Also off Promthep Cape, Phuket

  • Depth: ~72 meters

  • Condition: Damaged and resting on starboard side

  • Notable: Scuttled after mine damage during the same operation (24 July 1945)

Both wrecks are part of the Operation Livery battlefield, and divers have recovered artifacts confirming their identity—like shell casings and portholes. 

COPP memorial: 90 medals for just 200 men at Hayling Island near Portsmouth.

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