Think my father said that the outboards as delivered to him were American, basic and unreliable. He and his engineers had to semi-rebuild them to make them fit to use by the troops. Although we knew something of his activities in India and Burma, it wasn't until we went through his papers after he died that we realised that he was 'special forces'. Having won his MC in the first siege of Tobruk, he was supposed to take part in the first Chindit operations but was injured during training by falling down a cliff while leading a section in the jungle at night. Probably saved his life, as 60 pct or more of those in the first Chindit operation did not come back. His knee injury healed but not sufficiently to allow him to walk into the jungle, so was put in charge of the supply operation.