According to Mark Reynolds, Daily Express's journalist, the Commander Clive Gwinner played a pivotal role in the Battle of the Atlantic where he became the maritime equivalent of a top 'ace', ruthlessly pursuing enemy 'wolfpacks' in his Royal Navy ships. He was a World War Two hero who destroyed seven enemy U-boats in Battle of the Atlantic. 

The heroics of a prolific submarine hunter can be revealed after his medals were put up for sale. Now his impressive medal group has been made available for sale by a private collector for a pre-sale estimate of £9,000. 

Cdr Gwinner served in the Royal Navy submarine service after the First World War which helped him understand the psychology of submarine warfare later on in his career. He rejoined the navy at the start of the Second World War and was given command of HMS Lulworth.

On July 1942 the ship was escorting a convoy south of the Azores when the Italian submarine was spotted and Gwinner gave the order to go after it at full-steam.

After the sub dived, Gwinner forced it to the surface with depth charge attacks before deciding to ram it, an action that set the U-boat on fire.

The Lulworth avoided two torpedoes fired in retaliation by another submarine before picking up 35 Italian survivors, which prompted the commanding officer of the British flotilla to jokingly signal 'how are you off for spaghetti?'

His first 'kill' of an Italian sub epitomised his own fast and loose lifestyle; charging and ramming it with the bow of his vessel, HMS Lulworth, because he was outgunned by the U-boat. The 1942 attack sunk the submarine, Pietro Calvi, and killed its captain, Primo Longobardo, the Italian navy's most successful Atlantic submarine commander.

After destroying a two more submarines, U-226 and U-91, while serving on HMS Affleck, Cdr Gwinner conducted one of the longest U-boat hunts of the war, spending 39 hours stalking U-538 which had sunk a sister ship, HMS Gould. He finally accounted for it using depth charges and gunfire when its conning tower broke the surface off Ireland. His ship was cheered to rafters when it returned to its berth at Belfast. In the spring of 1944 Cdr Gwinner bagged U-392 off Gibralter before destroying two more in the English Channel in June and July.

As well as the Battle of the Atlantic where he commanded escort ships for convoys bring vital supplies to Britain from America, he also helped protect the D-Day invasion fleet from German U-boats. Cdr Gwinner's remarkable record was rewarded with winning the prestigious Distinguished Service Order twice and the Distinguished Service Cross. He was also mentioned in dispatches three times.

"He was a brilliant and ruthless hunter of Axis submarines and played a notable role in the Battle of the Atlantic, in addition to playing an instrumental role in protecting the Allied armada which invaded Normandy from submarine attack."

Read the full story at: http://www.express.co.uk/