During operation Pedestal in August 1942 Unbroken torpedoed and severely damaged the two Italian cruisers Bolzano and Muzio Attendolo.

With a sick wife, he was then assigned to Hong Kong where he was unable to afford even the single hotel room he rented.

[3] Mars was arrested and court martialled for insubordination and absence without leave, which resulted in his dismissal from the Royal Navy in June 1952.

The controversy over his dismissal was the subject of a parliamentary question the following month, when the future prime minister James Callaghan asked the then First Lord of the Admiralty whether Mars would receive his pension.

[4] Following his dismissal from the Royal Navy, Mars became a successful author, publishing several autobiographical works and novels.