
Commandos in canoes rowing toward Bordeaux, December 1942 (Royal Marines photo)
75 Years Ago—Dec. 11, 1942: “Cockleshell Heroes” Raid: British commandos, who had landed in France from a submarine on Dec. 7 and canoed up the Gironde River, damage six ships in Bordeaux; two of the ten commandos survive.
First US military personnel arrive in Iraq and Iran.
FWIW, I think those are actually kayaks. The British made use of them for this purpose.
The British did call them canoes, correctly or incorrectly 🙂