The cramped interior of the X-51 midget submarine (IWM neg DXP(T)84/78/17)

The X-Craft exhibition tells the story of the development and use of midget submarines during the Second World War.

X-craft (the British code name for midget submarines) were developed for attacks on specialist naval targets in difficult waters and the exhibition features two of these fascinating vessels, X-51 and the remains of X-7.

The Tirpitz in a Norwegian fjord, April 1942 (IWM neg HU35755)

The attack on the German battleship Tirpitz was one of the most hazardous operations undertaken by midget submarines. The ship was lying in Kaafjord, in northern Norway, in what the German navy thought was an impenetrable position, heavily guarded and surrounded by torpedo nets. Of the six X-craft which took part in the operation in 1943, only two reached their target.

X-craft personnel including Lt Godfrey Place RN, commander of X-7 (back row, second from left) (IWM neg A21686)

Their commanders were both captured after the attack, one of the submarines sank and the other was scuttled, but the Tirpitz was immobilised for six months.

The assault by tiny submarines with only a four man crew apiece on the giant 42,000 ton battleship has been described as one of the most courageous acts of all time and both surviving commanders were awarded the Victoria Cross.

 

 

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