STORY OF THE MIDGETS

Chronicle (Levin), 12 February 1948, Page 5

STORY OF THE MIDGETS

(N.Z.PJL.-

-Reuter*

• • u. .77 ■ ■ - ■ ^ •.;» Cold, Courage Of Ms' Grews

CoDyriaht)

Received Wednesday, "r.G'p.m. LONpO.iN, Feb. 11, Of (the thi'.ee midget siiibmarijies aomprising t'he attack-mg fo®e.e wdiich d.ffiaaged the Oerman bajttles^iip in Alten, Jlioi'cl, NoTv\vay, ,011. Bepte-mlxet; §2, It ■is- -now disclosed that ,.eue,. commanded -by ' t-he vAustraMaii-bom Lieutenant Henry Creer, penetrat.ed the eijemy 's h.ea-vily - pi'otpcted -ancsho.rag43 befpire b,einsg destroyed. •Fhe midget's actual fate is a

mystery. No bodi|js,; persofiki geaivor ;survivprs were foiiiid. li was peyer pr.oyed whether it laicT .charges and was an the way .out or was wa-iting to attack when destroyed. $ear- Admiral C. B. B.arry,. then comrnanding' Ihe Royal Navy's snbmarinesr xvrote in a dispateh published iix the London Ga.zette to.day : "LronT tlie' position in \vhicb -the .wrecj^ed eraft xvas fonnd, it is cl.ear -the e're.w skowed courage of the higbest order and lived up to the ;highest traditions of the service." The other two eommand.ers. Lieu-tenants Cameron and. Place," were awarded Victoria Crosses All four in Lieut. Cameron 's submarine and .Lieut. Plaee and one other of his erew, survived. Th-us' the attack cost half oi' ihe niidgets' pei'sonnel totalling twelve. The British midgets did not use torpedoes. They p.laced charges. each weighing two tons, .dh'ectly under the target. Rear-Admiral Bar.ry's reeonstr.uction of the aitapk, supported by evidence ob.ta.ined after the war, disclosed a story of Bold. calculated courage unrivalled thro.UG'h.out the war. All three

commanders had ineredible es capes between the time the midg ets alipped from the mother s-ul) rnarines and the time they reaehec! the innermost fiord in which the "Tirpitz 7vas anchored behind formidalple dcfonces. Lieutenant Cameron Took his midget through -tlie net defence in broad dayligh-t on the surface, following a smajl eoaster through the net .gate. The (J.e.rmans sighted Ihe midget which dived. They tiext spott ed i t while a ground and thoug-ht i-t a porpoise before they discovered their mistake, The, midget again dived underWater. The next time -the Gepmans saw the midget it was right alongside the Tirpjtz. Lieutenant .Cameron, destroyed his seeret eqiiipment, rel.eased the eliarges and seut-tled the midget. The Germans rescued Lieutenant Cameron and cre\v just before the rnidget sank. Lieutenant Place 's craft was caught in -the nets but he extrieat ed it and " deposited its ttvo

charges. It tvas afterwards several times entangled in the nets. Depth charges and the expiosion of the British charges .seyerely damaged it. Lieutenant Place surfaeed it an hour afferwai'ds and stepped aboard a pontooii but.. thoc midget ..sank before the other three , members of tlu erew could lenie it • Qne of' the: tlt];e^ jBrfaced ihheh. Jiours^ IateD by .eseape* apparatus. Meanwhile Lieutenant Cameron and erew aboard the Tirpitz anxiously looked at their watclies . as the tinle approached for the " charges to explode. The Germans treated th.em well and they were drinking hot eoffee and 'schnapps as the charg.es went off and lifted the battl,eship five or six feet oul ■ of the water. Panic reigned aboard the Tirpitz for a short time af.ter the explosion which killed between 50 and 6Q of the erew aiid put the • Tirpitz out of aetion of seven • rnonths. Tlie Germans expressed greah admiration for the br avery and ihe enterpris.e of' tlie midgets' crews. .. The dispateh gives no details pf the midge-ts bu-tNeu-ter says Janes Fighting Ships lis,te.d twelve such •vessels in the Royal Navy at tln ■end of Ihe war, each 53 feet long with a displaeement of 30 tons.