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For certain operations where conventional submarines could not
be deployed, smaller, more specialized boats were required. Four-man,
52 feet long X-craft, complete submarines in miniature, were first
laid down in September 1942 with one definite purpose, the destruction
of the German battleship Tirpitz. Although she, and other
German battleships, rarely ventured out from their secure bases
among the Norwegian fjords, the possibility of the devastating
damage they might inflict on the Allies' vital Russian convoys
tied down British capital ships to the North Atlantic theatre
when they were much needed elsewhere, particularly in the Far
East.
X-craft were towed submerged by standard submarines to their
target area where they were then released for independent action
which might last several days. They had a crew of three for the
exhausting and ocasionally hazardous towing period and another
of four, including a diver, to carry out the operation. Weaponry
consisted of either several limpet mines to be attached individually
or two two-ton explosive charges to be laid directly beneath the
target.
On 22 September 1943, Tirpitz was lying in Alten Fjord
at the northern tip of Norway. Although six X-craft set out on
Operation Source to sink the battleship, X 8 and
X 9 were lost on passage, X 10 abandoned at the
outer fjord suffering from mechanical problems and X 5
was presumed sunk by the Germans in the inner fjord so only X
6 and X 7 made the attack. Both had great difficulty
in getting past the formidable anti-submarine and anti-torpedo
net defences. Forced to the surface by one of these obstructions,
Lieutenant Donald Cameron in X 6 had to scuttle his boat and surrender,
after having released his explosive charges in the vicinity of
Tirpitz. X 7, commanded by Lieutenant Godfrey Place, also
placed her two charges successfully but could not get far enough
from Tirpitz before they exploded. The resulting structural damage
caused Place also to surrender and scuttle his craft. Unfortunately
two of his crew did not survive. Although Tirpitz was not sunk
she was put out of action until April 1944. Both Cameron and Place
were awarded the Victoria Cross.
There were seven other X-craft operations during the Second World
War. In January 1944, X 20 landed hydrographic experts
to gather information on the Normandy beaches and, in June, together
with X 23, acted as navigational beacons to guide in the
first wave of assault craft on D-Day. In April X 24 attacked
and then in September sank a floating dock being used for vital
U-boat repairs in Bergen, the most heavily defended Norwegian
harbour. Finally, in the Far East, on 31 July 1945, XE 1
and XE 3 penetrated Singapore waters to sink the Japanese
cruiser Takao and XE 4 and XE 5 cut Japanese
telephone cables between Saigon, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The
latter action was important as, at a crucial point in the war,
it forced the Japanese to revert to radio communications which
could be intercepted. Both XE 3's commander, Lieutenant
Ian Fraser and diver, Leading Seaman James Magennis, received
the Victoria Cross. All X-craft returned safely from these operations.
Men of the Submarine Service also manned human torpedoes which
were used for attacks on shipping in enemy harbours. British development
had been stimulated by the Italians' successful use of similar
weapons, particularly an attack on the battleships Queen Elizabeth
and Valiant at Alexandria on 19 December 1941. Known as
"Chariots", these craft were transported to their objective
in external containers welded on to T-class submarines. Two men,
dressed in diving suits, rode astride the torpedo to steer it
to the target where the nose section, a 600lb detachable warhead,
was then attached. Built, like X-craft, to take on the Tirpitz,
their only operation against the German battleship was aborted
on 1 November 1942. Re-directed to the Mediterranean, opportunities
to use Chariots were few and far between. Nevertheless, they damaged
an Italian light cruiser and merchant ship in Palermo harbour
on 2/3 January 1943, sank merchant ships to prevent the Germans
using them to block Tripoli harbour on 18 January 1943 and carried
out beach reconnaissance in May and June 1943 before the invasion
of Sicily. After one operation in the Far East on 27 October 1944,
the use of Chariots by the Royal Navy was ended. Two T-class submarines
were lost while supporting actions in the Mediterranean.
See Images 14, 15 and 16 in the
Image Gallery.
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