The British Navy produced the most effective midget submarines of the war: the four-man 'X-craft' with diesel-electric power.   One of the crew was a diver who could leave and re-enter the boat by means of a flooding chamber when required for cutting nets or clearing obstacles.   Attacks were carried out by working the boat directly under the target's hull, then either dumping the fused charges which were carried outside the X-craft or sending out the diver to fix magnetic limpet mines to the target, or both.   A true war-child, the X-craft was developed after the Italians (at Alexandria) and the Japanese (at Diego Suarez) had given convincing demonstrations that capital ships could be attacked, crippled and even sunk at anchor by attack craft.

Despite no previous experience with this type of midget submarine, the British produced a workable prototype by the end of 1942 and on 17th April, 1943, formed the 12th Submarine Flotilla to train for midget submarine operations.

There could be no doubt that the concentration of German capital ships in the Arctic waters caused the suspension of convoys north to Russia, during the summer of 1943.   The capital ships were the battleship Tirpitz, battlecruiser Scharnhorst and pocket-battleship Lutzow.   The Germans moved their heavy ships north to Altenfjord, at Norway's northern tip.   A special flight of reconnaissance Spitfires were sent to north Russia to obtain the latest photographs of the German ships at anchorage.

The problem of the long approach to Altenfjord which would necessitate a heavy fuel load - and was probably outside the x-craft's radius of action - was solved by towing the X-craft behind a submarine from northern Scotland.   During the approach, a crewman aboard each X-craft kept the tiny craft in operational order until the attack when the crews transferred to it from the parent submarine.   Six X-craft were dispatched: X5, X6 and X7 to attack the battleship Tirpitz; X8 to attack the pocket-battleship Lutzow and the X9 and X10 to destroy the battlecruiser Schanhorst.   They sailed in tow with their charges on 11-12 September, 1943. The code name for the attack was "Operation Source".

The attacking force lost two X-craft at the outset: X9 broke her two moorings and was never seen again; the X8 being towed by the submarine "Seanymph" parted company with the mother ship but it was two hours before this was noticed.   After many hours, the X8 was located but then it was discovered that it had an air leak from the buoyancy chambers on the starboard-side charge which interfered with stability and made it difficult to trim and hold.   The starboard charge was jettisoned but - in spite of a safe setting - it exploded about a thousand yards astern of the craft.   Then the port charge developed a problem which caused the buoyancy chambers to flood.   This was released and exploded three and half miles away.   Unfortunately, as a result of these events, the X8 was so badly damaged that it was no longer possible for it to take part in the attack on the Lutznow. The Operational Crew were: HMS/M Seanymph (the Tow Vessel) - (Lt. J.P.H. Oakley DSC RN) Capt Lt. B.M. McFarlane RNVR Lt. J. Smart RNVR Lt. W.J. Marsden RANVR Sub.Lt. R. Hindmarsh RNVR Stoker J.G. Robinson ERA4 J.B. Murray

""X-Craft undergoing trials in UK waters"

Rowland Xavier Hindmarsh the designated crewman of X8 was the son of Harold Hammond Hindmarsh and the grandson of William George Hindmarsh (26.11.1853 -16.4.1929).  You may view his family tree from here. 

X10 never did find the Scharnhorst.   The Scharnhorst had moved down the Altenfjord to carry out gunnery exercises.   The X10 returned to sea, her crew being the only one to be recovered by one of the parent submarines.   The X5 was never seen again after the 20th September.   It was almost certain that it sunk outside the nets screening the Tirpitz.

Both the X6 and X7 on the 23rd September, 1943, penetrated the the Tirpitz's net defences and jettisoned their charges beneath the hull of the ship.   Both submarines developed mechanical problems and the crew had no alternative but to surrender after being spotted and coming under heavy fire - but not before they had scuttled both craft.

Three crew members were lost and one captured from the X7.   The crew of X6 were taken captive aboard the Tirpitz.  Lieutenant Donald Cameron and his men went through anxious moments - counting the seconds until their explosive charges were due to detonate - uncertain as to whether the charges they had laid would be effective.    Meanwhile, the German crew, with no steam raised to permit an instant shift of anchorage and no tug readily available, hauled up the anchor in the hope that the Tirpitz would drift from its berth.   The effect of this action was to move it away from the charges of the X6 but not the second charge of the X7.   This exploded under the Tirpitz's engine-room to the great relief of the submarine crews who had so hard to achieve their objective. The Tirpitz lay immobilized until the spring of 1944.   Moreover, with the successful interception of the Scharnhorst by Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser and the Home Fleet, on 26th December, 1943 it was possible to restart the Russian convoys which were vital to the war effort.   The Tirpitz was now a ready target but the terrain surrounding its harbour was difficult and closely defended.    British carrier aircraft attacked it on 3rd April, 1944 and caused some damage to the giant vessel; however, other air attacks were less successful and it was not until the 15th September, 1944, when the Royal Air Force attacked the Tirpitz for the first time with 12,000lb (5450kg) Tallboy bombs that the ship was put it out of action.    Finally, on the 12th November, 1944, 32 RAF Lancasters with Tallboy bombs finished the Tirpitz off: the vessel capsized and 971 men drowned.

Another midget submarine attack occurred on the 24th April, 1944.   The X24 was towed across the North Sea to Bergen, by the submarine Sceptre.   It penetrated the harbour and sank the blockade-running merchant ship, Barenfels.    The midget submarine returned again on the 11th September, 1944, sinking the large floating dock at Bergen.    The X-craft were also heavily committed to reconnaissance of the Normandy beaches before the landings on June 6th and were later used to guide the assault forces into the beaches.

The dedicated crews of the X-craft were reaching their peak efficiency and with the war at sea in the European theatre virtually won the British Navy were able to transfer their main naval effort to the Pacific.   The improved 'XE-craft' were sent to the Pacific and succeeded in making their mark.

Acknowledgement: Details for this Article and the photographs are from the "British Submarines at War" web site.   Article provided by Bob Hindmarsh, Adelaide

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