Paddy Mayne was known for his athleticism, buoyant character, and crazy antics as a soldier during World War II. Join us, as we look at the unknown Irish hitman whom Nazis feared the most.
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Patty Mayne SAS Commando Silently Infiltrated The German Airbase
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne, better known as Paddy Mayne, was a British Army officer from Newtownards who played rugby for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. He was also a lawyer, amateur boxer, and a founder member of the Special Air Service known as the SAS. During WWII, Mayne was one of the British Army's most decorated soldiers. The night of December 14, 1941, was very cold in the North African desert. The German and Italian airbase outside the village of Tamet was located halfway between El Agheila and Tripoli in Libya. It was a crucial station on the southern Mediterranean coast, providing support to General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps and Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's Panzer Army Afrika. Tamet was a desirable target for Commonwealth forces. The base was closed for the night. Around 30 German and Italian airmen were eating, drinking, playing cards, and chatting in the wooden building that served as the officers' mess. Preoccupied as they were, the pilots were taken aback as the door cracked beneath the impact of a booted foot. The silhouette of a large soldier in British uniform with a submachine gun jammed against his right hip dominated the entrance. Ashe opened fire, screams of horror and anguish rang across the room. By the time the Tommy gun's 50-round drum was empty, the room was covered with blood and littered with dead and dying men. The enormous enemy soldier vanished almost as quickly as he emerged. He was Lieutenant Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne of Britain's Special Air Service, and he wasn't done with Tamet. After Mayne and the five other members of his commando unit galloped into the stygian darkness of the surrounding desert, the base's panicked, disoriented troops spent over an hour shooting at each other in the low light. The initial attack occurred at 2140 hours. Just after 2300 hours, Mayne and his men returned to the airstrip and began laying explosives on the German and Italian planes stationed along the base's perimeter. They also booby-trapped fuel, ammo, and telephone poles. Just before midnight, Tamet exploded in volcanic fury, pulverizing planes, and igniting fuel and munitions. This critical Axis installation was temporarily rendered inoperable because of Paddy Mayne and his commando’s brilliant work.
Robert Blair Paddy Mayne Early Life
Mayne was born in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland, as the sixth of seven children to a Protestant family. The Maynes were significant landowners who had various retail companies in town. Paddy was named after his second cousin, a British Army soldier who served in World War I. Mount Pleasant, the family residence, was situated in the hills above Newtownards, where Mayne attended the Regent House Grammar School. It was there that his rugby union aptitude was discovered, and he began playing for the school 1st XV as well as the local Ards RFC team at the age of 16. While at school, he also played cricket and golf, and demonstrated shooting ability in the rifle club. After graduating from high school, he attended Queen's University in Belfast to study law with the goal of becoming a solicitor. Mayne served as an officer cadet in the Queen's University, Belfast Contingent, Officers' Training Corps while attending university. While at university, he began boxing and became the Irish Universities Heavyweight Champion in August 1936. He then advanced to the final of the British Universities Heavyweight Championship but lost on points. The next year, with an 8 handicap, he won the Scrabo Golf Club President's Cup. Mayne earned his first full Ireland rugby cap in 1937, against Wales. After five more caps for Ireland as a lock forward, Mayne was chosen for the 1938 British Lions tour of South Africa. While the Lions lost the first test, a South African publication reported that Mayne was superb in a pack that bravely and unwaveringly faced the enormous challenge. He appeared in seventeen of twenty provincial matches and all three tests. After returning from South Africa, he joined Malone RFC in Belfast.
31 май 2024
