Lost heroes of the 'Tirpitz'

Convoy threat

The powerful German battleship Tirpitz, sister of Bismarck sunk at sea after a long and difficult chase in 1941, exerted a powerful influence on the Royal Navy.

She was the centrepiece of the German surface forces based in Norway, threatening the Arctic convoys to Russia. A break-out into the Atlantic could not be ruled out. Disabling her would do much to solve a core problem of Allied maritime strategy, but bombing her in her defended anchorages was difficult with the available aircraft and weapons.

More novel approaches were tried. In October 1942, a daring attempt to use chariot 'human torpedoes' failed because of bad weather. Tirpitz was nonetheless disabled by an extensive self-maintenance period over the winter, but in March she was mobile once more and moved to the inaccessible fastness of Kaa Fiord at the head of Alta Fiord in the far north, where she formed the centrepiece of a powerful battle group.

Midget submarines

An X-craft prior to launch © Kaa Fiord was out of bomber range, so the British decided on another underwater solution - the X-craft. This was a true midget submarine, 51ft long and 5ft in diameter, powered by diesel and battery propulsion.

Manned by three men - later increased to four - the X-craft was intended to drop two powerful 'side cargoes' under the target, each loaded with over a ton-and-a-half of Amatex high explosive.

The concept was the brainchild of Commander Cromwell-Varley, a retired submariner who had enlisted the support of both Max Horton, Flag Officer Submarines, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself.

The first trials X-craft were launched in March 1942 and the six boats intended for operational use, numbered X-5 to X-10, were delivered in early 1943.

It was originally planned to make the attack as soon was possible, but Horton's successor, Admiral Barry, worried about the need for maximum training time with the tricky little craft. He postponed the attack until after the Arctic summer.

Lair of the 'beast'

Computer-generated image of the attack on 'Tirpitz' © In September 1943, RAF Spitfires based in the Soviet Union took pictures of the ship's anchorage, demonstrating the problems to be overcome, notably anti-torpedo nets that protected the immediate approaches to the 'beast', as Tirpitz was nicknamed.

Moonlit conditions dictated an attack between 20 and 25 September. On 11 September, six normal submarines and their depot ship arrived by the X-craft mothership, Bonaventure, in Loch Cairnbawn in Scotland. Here, the X-craft had been honing their skills against the Home Fleet.

The submarines were to tow the X-craft to the approaches to the target. There, the midgets' passage crews would be replaced by the operational quartets who would take the craft to their targets.

It was decided to use two craft to attack the smaller battleship, Scharnhorst , and a third the heavy cruiser Lutzow, leaving three boats for Tirpitz. The three Tirpitz boats were:

X-5, commanded by Lieutenant Henty Henty-Creer, an unconventional officer of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve; X-6, commanded by Lieutenant Donald Cameron, Royal Naval Reserve and one of the first to be attached to X-craft; and X-7, commanded by Lieutenant Godfrey Place, Royal Navy. Henty-Creer was in command of the entire mission.

Treacherous crossing

The tow ropes were the source of quite a few problems in the heavy seas, and one of the Scharnhorst craft, X-9, was lost when its rope cable broke. The Lutzow-bound midget, X-8, had to be scuttled when she was damaged while jettisoning her flooded side charges.

The premature flooding of these weapons was a still unsolved problem, as the effect on the trim of the boats was almost disastrous.

X-7 suffered a tow rope breakage and Place actually had to kick a mine off the casing, but she reached her designated slipping point along with X-5 and X-6, whose passage had been helped by stronger nylon tow ropes.

The attack crews cast off from their mother boats on the evening of 20 September. X-10 also was successfully cast off, but she lost her target when Scharnhorst put to sea for gunnery practice. Beset by various problems, she did make it back to her tow, but the midget had to be scuttled on the way home.

Closing the attack

The three Tirpitz boats closed their target to attack on 22 September. X-6 had problems with a flooding side charge, and a leaking periscope that eventually suffered a burnt-out motor.

Cameron's luck changed, however, when he spotted a coaster moving through the boom at the head of Kaa Fiord. He followed through on the surface in the ship's wake, dived and then moved up the fiord, effectively blind while trying to repair the periscope.

With his periscope repaired, he was able to successfully grope his way through a gap in the torpedo nets. Cameron's luck held when he ran aground, again unobserved, but he was eventually spotted when he accidentally broke surface a second time.

Both the periscope and compass were now out of action, but X-6 managed to dive to its target's port bow, where it surfaced once more. Under fire, it dropped both side cargoes beside Tirpitz's 'B' turret. Cameron then ordered his crew to abandon and scuttle the boat.

Running blind

In X7, Place had passed through the boom without difficulty, but then ran into torpedo nets protecting an unused anchorage. The boat and its equipment were damaged in the process of getting free, but undeterred, Place tried to move in under the anti-torpedo nets.

These were deeper than expected, and Place was entangled twice before surfacing, to find that he was inside. He moved forward to make contact with Tirpitz's hull. He dropped one side cargo and then moved aft to drop a second under the estimated position of 'C' turret.

Place repeatedly became entangled on the way out, and X-7 surfaced under heavy small arms fire. She succeeding in getting over the net but, with Place navigating blind, was soon entangled yet again.

What of Henty-Creer? He did not return from the mission, and we shall never know for certain what happened to X-5. There is, however some interesting and indicative evidence.

When Cameron and his crew were captured, Tirpitz's captain, Hans Meyer, ordered the ship to raise steam. X-7 was then seen trying to escape on the battleship's port side. Meyer thought this meant an almost certain attack on that side of Tirpitz, and he decided to haul the ship to starboard away from the charges.

This was successful in drawing the ship away from at least three of the charges known to have been laid. But at 08:12, when the charges exploded, water was seen to spout from the battleship's starboard side, as well as to port. This may have been Place's second charge alone, but it may also have been a charge laid by X-5.

Tirpitz was lifted out of the water and smashed back onto it. After violent shudders, the battleship came to rest with a slight list to port. Electronic and fire control systems were seriously damaged, and all auxiliary machinery either thrown off its housings or damaged internally.

'Tirpitz' shattered

Most of the bolts holding Tirpitz's machinery in place were fractured. The after-fire control computer was a write-off, as was the aftmost turret, which was lifted off its roller bearings. Two other turrets were also disabled. The ship was immobilised because of damage to the shafts and rudders, and power was cut off until other ships came alongside to help.

One wonders if only one side charge, right under the ship, could have created such chaos. There may have been two. The BBC's 'Timewatch' team has since discovered an unexploded side charge outside the area of the nets. This could only have come from X-5.

What, however, of the other? Its disappearance suggests an interesting story. Henty-Creer may well have jettisoned the charge because of flooding, and pressed on with the attack with his remaining cargo, laying it on Tirpitz's starboard side.

Like the other boats, he may have laid a charge under or close to the battleship - but on the other side. Indeed, Meyer's precautions may well have drawn the battleship further over an unseen menace.

X-5's vital role

The explosions shook X-7 free, but Place was aware that his boat was too badly damaged to return. He therefore decided to sink her after evacuating the crew, and came alongside a battle practice target to do so. Sadly, only Place and one member of the crew were able to make their escape - from a boat that sank faster than expected.

X-5 surfaced, probably accidentally, some 650 yards away from Tirpitz's starboard bow. The battleship opened fire with the remaining armament, and some hits were scored. A German destroyer then dropped depth charges that almost certainly contributed to the loss of the boat.

The wreckage found by the team close to the X-5's expected position may well be the remains of Henty-Creer's midget submarine. Alternatively, the boat may have sunk in deeper water. Whatever the situation, there was no-one to report on her activities.

Place and Cameron received well earned Victoria Crosses. The other survivors received Distinguished Service Orders or the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. Those lost were not given awards, so Henty-Creer did not get one, although he was mentioned in dispatches.

Given the possibility that his side charge was one of the two that inflicted the vital damage, this seems a pity. There is no conclusive evidence that X-5 attacked Tirpitz, but the 'Timewatch' findings do suggest very strongly that it played a significant role in neutralising Germany's greatest single naval asset.

Tirpitz was never the same again. She did not receive the dockyard attention required to repair the damage inflicted by the X-craft. Although it took repeated Royal Navy and Royal Air Force attacks to finally sink Tirpitz, the midgets had done much to neutralise the 'beast' in its lair.

Find out more

Books

Underwater Warriors by Paul Kemp (Cassell, 2001)

Midget Submarines of the Second World War by Paul Kemp (Caxton, 1999)

Submarine Warfare; Monsters and Midgets by Richard Compton-Hall (Blandford, Poole, 1985)

Tirpitz, the Floating Fortress by David Brown (Arms and Armour, 1972)

Sea Battles in Close Up, World War Two, Vol 2 by Eric Grove (Ian Allan, Shepperton, 1993)

German Capital Ships and Raiders, Volume II, From Scharnhorst to Tirpitz, 1942-44 edited by Eric Grove (Frank Cass, 2002)

The Mystery of X-5 by Frank Walker (Kimber, 1988)

Menace, The Life and Death of the Tirpitz by Ludovic Kennedy (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1979)

About the author

Dr Eric Grove is a lecturer in naval history at Hull University, and works as a naval history consultant and presenter for television documentary programmes. His publications include Vanguard to Trident: British Naval Policy since World War II (Naval Institute Press, 1987), and The Future of Sea Power (Naval Institute Press, 1990).