A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships , from which they are launched and recovered and which provide living accommodation for the crew and support staff.
24-627: The XE-class submarines were a series of twelve midget submarines that were built for the Royal Navy during 1944; four more to a slightly different design were built 1954-5 as the Stickleback class . They were an improved version of the X class used in the attack on the German battleship Tirpitz . They carried a crew of four, typically a lieutenant in command, with a sub-lieutenant as deputy, an engine room artificer in charge of
48-573: A 40 km range non-hull-penetrating optronic mast as the attack periscope, and a 20 km range navigation periscope. Indonesian defence minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has backed the project. Construction should commence at the Indonesian PT.PAL INDONESIA shipyard by late 2011, and will take about three or four years to complete. The Turkish navy has evaluated two midget submarine designs from German firm ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems , Type 200 and Type 300 classes: The Royal Navy has used
72-407: A diving depth of 300 feet (91.4 m). For surface running, the boats were powered by two 950- brake-horsepower (708 kW) diesel engines , each driving one propeller shaft . When submerged each propeller was driven by a 650-horsepower (485 kW) electric motor . They could reach 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) on the surface and 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) underwater. On
96-552: A growing number of amateur submariners homebuilt submersibles as a hobby. France also acquired a number of German midget submarines at the end of WW2. Most German midget submarines were developed late in World War II in an attempt to stop the Allied invasion of Europe and used later to disrupt its supply lines. As a result, the submarines mostly engaged in open water attacks rather than harbour penetration. The Indian Navy
120-620: A number of midget submarines. Most were developed during the Second World War. The decommissioning of the Stickleback class 1958–early 1960s marked the end of midget submarines designed for combat in the Royal Navy. HMS Spark HMS Spark (pennant number P236) was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She survived the war and was scrapped in 1950. The third batch
144-455: Is planning to acquire two midget submarines at an estimated cost of ₹2000 Crores for use as swimmer delivery vehicles . These submarines will be used for conducting underwater special operations by MARCOS . Both submarines will be constructed by Hindustan Shipyard Limited . The Indonesian Navy has shown some interest in having a new Midget-class submarine, built by local shipyards, for coastal rather than open water patrol. The submarine
168-567: The Eastern Fleet , arriving at Trincomalee on 21 October 1944. She went on to sink two Japanese sailing vessels, three Japanese coasters, a barge and a tug. Another coaster was forced ashore on Panjang Island. Spark was attacked by an enemy escort which dropped sixteen depth charges, but managed to escape damage. She returned to the UK in October 1945. She was sold on 28 October 1949. Spark
192-512: The Mekong Delta by the submarine HMS Spearhead , where she looked for the two telephone cables by using a towed grapnel . She eventually snagged the first cable, and managed to haul it about 10 feet (3.0 m) off the seabed. XE4's diver, Sub-Lieutenant K.M. Briggs, used the net/cable cutter to sever it. The second cable was soon found as well, and was severed by the second diver, Sub-Lieutenant A. Bergius. Two divers were carried due to
216-712: The United States Navy's USS Holland (SS-1) and the British Royal Navy's HMS Holland 1 (both named for the same designer ). Midget submarines are best known for harbor penetration, although only two World War II boats, the British X-craft and the unsuccessful Welman submarine , were specifically designed with this in mind. Japan's Ko-hyoteki -class submarines were originally designed to take part in decisive fleet actions. However, as circumstances changed, they were given
240-511: The bow tubes for a grand total of thirteen torpedoes. Twelve mines could be carried in lieu of the internally stowed torpedoes. They were also armed with a 3-inch (76 mm) deck gun . HMS Spark was built by Scotts , of Greenock and launched on 28 December 1943. Thus far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Spark . She survived the Second World War , spending between December 1944 and July 1945 with
264-536: The constant threat of oxygen poisoning . Despite repeated attempts it was not completely certain that the cable had in fact been severed, and it was not until after the Japanese surrender that it was confirmed that XE5 had succeeded in doing so. XE5 and Selene returned to Subic Bay on 6 August 1945. In August 1945, HMS XE1 and XE3 executed a joint attack on Japanese warships within Singapore harbour. XE3
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#1732801962671288-573: The form of, for example, detachable side loads and nose sections. Alternatively they may function as swimmer delivery vehicles to deliver frogmen to the vicinity of their targets, which are then attacked with limpet mines . In civilian use, midget submarines are generally called submersibles ; commercial submersibles are used in, for example, underwater maintenance, exploration, archaeology, and scientific research. Other commercially available submersibles are marketed as novelty tourist attractions and as specialised tenders for wealthy yacht owners. Also,
312-501: The mechanical side and a seaman or leading-seaman. At least one of them was qualified as a diver . In addition to the two side charges (each of which contained two tons of amatol explosive), they carried around six 20-pound (9 kg) limpet mines which were attached to the target by the diver. They and their depot ship HMS Bonaventure arrived at Labuan in July 1945. Four of them managed to take part in operations before
336-609: The operating rule that a diver should not spend more than 20 minutes in depths over 33 feet (10 m) and no more than 10 minutes over 40 feet (12 m). XE4 and Spearhead returned to Labuan on 3 August 1945. Operation Foil was directed at the Hong Kong to Singapore telephone cable and carried out by XE5 against the Hong Kong end of the cable, after being towed into position by the submarine HMS Selene . Operating close inshore near to Lamma Island , working conditions were poor, XE5's divers having to work in thick mud under
360-433: The surface, the third batch boats had a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and 120 nmi (220 km; 140 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged. The boats were armed with seven 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes . A half-dozen of these were in the bow and there was one external tube in the stern. They carried six reload torpedoes for
384-698: The task of harbor penetration. Germany's various World War II designs were mostly designed to attack Allied shipping off landing beaches and harbors, although the Seehund had a great enough range to attack shipping off the Thames estuary. Midget submarines have also seen some use in support roles. X-craft were used for reconnaissance, and the Seehund was used to carry supplies. A number of modern midget submarines have also been built for submarine rescue. Midget submarines are commonly armed with torpedoes and mines in
408-767: The two midget submarines from harbour to the point where the crews that took part in the attack took over. In 1950 XE7 was loaned, along with its crew, to the US for testing. Author Douglas Reeman featured XE craft in two of his novels, the 1961 Dive in the Sun and Surface with Daring published in 1976. Midget submarine Both military and civilian midget submarines have been built. Military types work with surface ships and other submarines as mother ships. Civilian and non-combatant military types are generally called submersibles and normally work with surface ships. Most early submarines would now be considered midget submarines, such as
432-430: The war ended. These operations, carried out in July 1945, were intended to cut the undersea telephone cables connecting Singapore , Saigon , Hong Kong and Tokyo . The intention was to oblige the Japanese to use radio and render themselves open to message interception. Operation Sabre was directed at the Hong Kong to Saigon telephone cable, and carried out by XE4 , which was towed to within 40 miles (64 km) of
456-939: Was at the wheel, received the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM). XE1' s C/O, Lieutenant John Elliott Smart RNVR received the DSO, and Sub-Lieutenant Harold Edwin Harper, RNVR received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC); and ERA Fourth Class Henry James Fishleigh and Leading Seaman Walter Henry Arthur Pomeroy received the Distinguished Service Medal . ERA Fourth Class Albert Nairn, Acting Leading Stoker Jack Gordan Robinson, and Able Seaman Ernest Raymond Dee were Mentioned in Despatches for their part in bringing
480-432: Was designed a number of years ago by a retired Indonesian Navy submariner officer, Colonel (Ret) Ir. R. Dradjat Budiyanto, Msc. The midget experiment project involves the construction of a submarine, designated MIDGET IM X −1, which will weigh about 150 – 250 tonnes, with a tubular frame design 24 – 30 meters long, and four torpedo tubes. The submarines will have minimum of 8 – 10 crew members including officers. They will have
504-574: Was severely damaged and never sailed again. XE3 s commander, Lieutenant Ian Edward Fraser RNR , and diver Leading Seaman James Joseph Magennis were awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for their part in the attack; whilst Sub-Lieutenant William James Lanyon Smith , RNZNVR , who was at the controls of XE3 , received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO); Engine Room Artificer Third Class Charles Alfred Reed, who
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#1732801962671528-489: Was slightly enlarged and improved over the preceding second batch of the S-class. The submarines had a length of 217 feet (66.1 m) overall , a beam of 23 feet 9 inches (7.2 m) and a draft of 14 feet 8 inches (4.5 m). They displaced 842 long tons (856 t) on the surface and 990 long tons (1,010 t) submerged. The S-class submarines had a crew of 48 officers and ratings . They had
552-485: Was successfully made and XE3 returned to HMS Stygian , her towing submarine. Meanwhile, XE1 was delayed by Japanese patrol craft, and her captain, realizing that he could not reach Myōkō (which was two miles further into the harbour than Takao ) before the mines already laid by XE3 would explode, also elected to drop his own charges under Takao . XE1 also successfully returned to her towing submarine, HMS Spark . The Takao , already damaged and not seaworthy,
576-567: Was tasked with mining the heavy cruiser Takao while XE1 was to attack the heavy cruiser Myōkō . The approach of XE3 along the Straits of Johor and through the various harbour defences took 11 hours plus a further two hours to locate the camouflaged target. Despite several opportunities for Japanese defenders to spot the vessel, XE3 successfully reached the Takao , fixed limpet mines and dropped its two, 2-ton side charges. The withdrawal
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