Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

MIDGET SUBMARINES and HUMAN
TORPEDOES
In global war the story of individual courage and endurance "Is shown
against a backdrop of mass participation. Yet the second world: war
had its full measure of small units given up to the planning and exe- j
cution ot individual exploits.
By W.W. I
IN "ABOVE US THE WAVES"
(Harrap, Australian ' price '
18/9), C. E. T. Warren
and .Tames Benson eiva
us, somewhat belatedly, the
story of one such unit.
It Is a fascinating account of
the "under-water "commandos,"
the men who developed and used
uiuiia.il WJiyeuucD aim -
submarines. ,
The i&ea of a man driving a tor
pedo beneath the surface, to attack
ships in harbor was first brought
forward by an Englishman In 1909.
Many plans and proposals were
made but the honor for the first
successful attack - by this method
goes to the Italian Navy.
In January, 1942, units of the
British Fleet were attacked in Alex
andria Harbor. This feat caused
Sir Winston Churchill to send one
of his characteristic notes: —
"Please report what is being
done to emulate the exploits of
the Italians in Alexandria Har
bor and similar methods of this
kind-. . . One would have thought
we should have been in the lead.
Please state the exact position."
It was some time before the
British counterpart could emulate
the Italians; but they eventually did
In no uncertain manner, even to
attacking heavy cruisers lying in
the protection of Spezia Harbor.
Australian readers will find special'
interest in" this book as members of
the Royal Australian Navy played
a notable part in both human tor
pedo and midget submarine opera
tions. In 1945 some of the X craft
were based in Australian waters .and
the flotilla paid off in. Sydney, send
ing their craft to the breaker's
yard there.
The joint authors of this account
have given many "details of" the long
fight against innumerable obstacles
that was necessary before successful
operations could be undertaken.
These preparations were not
without their dangers. Fatalities
occurred, but steadily mastery was
obtained of the intricacies of con-
trolling the "chariot" amid the
perils of strong currents and' vary-
ing unaer-water pressures. Tne
provision of outline drawings and
photographs adds considerable- in
terest to this section of the book. '
The first preoccupation of both
charioteers (the name human tor
pedo-men coined for themselves)
and X craft men was the German
pocket battleship Tirpitz. While she
lay in Norwegian waters British
naval dispositions were governed by
her; potential, .threat .to the North
Atlantic and Russian convoy routes.
The first attempt at attacking her
was made by human torpedo, crews.
Daring Plan
The story of this daringly planned
operation Is well told; A Norwegian
trawler managed to sail up Trondh-
jem's Fjord with' two human tor
pedoes lashed to her hull. Roving
reconnaissance planes, a garrulous
fisherman, engine, trouble and Nazi
control Inspections were all happily
passed when a violent storm In the
narrow waters caused the torpedoes
to break adrift.- :
. This was a sad blow as; they had
reached a suitable area to launch
the chariots for the attack. Nothing
daunted, the party scuttled their
trawler, as planned, and walked
home via Sweden.
The midget submarines were more
successful. In September, 1943, six
X craft towed by six submarines
set out. for Altenfjord, where Tir
pitz and Scharnhorst lay.
The 1500 miles tow was in Itself
a triumph for men and machines.
One midget was lost and another
so damaged as to necessitate scut
tling. The remaining four pene
trated Altenfjord. Two were able
to attack before being sunk. One
was lost to the guns of Tirpitz. The
other returned, completing the long
tow home. Tirpitz did not sail
again; she , lay at her anchorage
crippled until the R.A.F. bombed
and sank her.
Normandy
Not all of the account deals with
the sea. These charioteers were
not just suicide men. They were
sailors trained to walk home. Manv
of the most exciting Incidents of
the story of their operations In the
Mediterranean theatre concern their
adventures on land.
This book does not hide the great
disappointment of these men that
they were given -so few chances to
prove their new machines In ope
rations. New and unusual tasks,
such as surveying the landing
beaches of Normandy, guiding the
Invasion armada to its touch-
down and cutting _ of 'submarine
cables, were hazardous' operations
successfully accomplished. How
ever, offensive attacks were the
prime objective, and for the chariot
eers and X craft men they came
too seldom.
Recruits for these special craft
came from all branches of the ser
vice. In its traditional style, the
Navy kept these men with their
original designation. Thus, strange
as it may seem, we find it is a
Petty Officer Cook who pilots a
torpedo into Spezia Harbor, sinks
an Italian cruiser, and then suc-
cessfully walks back to Allied
lines.
The successful mingling of these
men of the lower deck with officers j
from every corner of the Empire
was, without doubt, a product ot
the common dangers they faced to
overcoming the perils of a nev
underwater activity. It is reflected
In the informality of so much o!
what is really an official account.
The traditionalist may not like
the liberal use of nicknames in this
semi-official story; but to those
who love a saga of courage and en- 1
durance, quietly told, this book will 1
be a joy.
An X-E craft in Sydney Harbor. Help
An X-E craft in Sydney Harbor.
King George VI examining a charioteer's knife aboard H.M.S. 1 Bonavcnture, the training ship for X-craft crcivs. I Help
King George VI examining a charioteer's knife aboard H.M.S. 1
Bonavcnture, the training ship for X-craft crcivs. I
$