MIDGET SUBMARINES HIT BATTLESHIP TIRPITZ

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 15, 13 October 1943, Page 5

MIDGET SUBMARINES HIT BATTLESHIP TIRPITZ

Gallant British Entry Into Norwegian Hide-Out SOME VESSELS FAIL TO RETURN (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 1 1. An Admiralty communique says: “British midget submarines carried out an attack on main units of the German battle fleet in protected anchorages in Alten Fiord, north Norway, inflicting underwater damage on the battleship Tirpitz. This involved hazards of the first order. “The attack was made on September 22. Two days later a German official communique announced that an attack by submarines of the smallest type bad been repulsed and prisoners taken. Insufficient evidence was available at the time to assess the result of the attack, as the operations were still proceeding. . Interrogation of tfee crews of midget submarines which took part in the exploit, and subsequent photographic reconnaissance, now leave no doubt, despite enemy claims to the contrary, that the attack met wit success.

“All the photographs taken after the attack show the Tirpitz, which has not moved from her anchorage, surrounded by thick oil Which covers the fiord where she lies and extends more than two miles from the berth. The photographs also show a number of small unidentified craft alongside the battleship, possibly repair ships or ships to provide power and light. “Personnel who took part in t'he operation report that on September 22, while still in the immediate- vicinity of the anchorage, they heard a series of very heavy detonations at the time expected for the units to be attacking. Three British midget submarines Which so far have not reburned from the operations must lie presumed lost. But in view of the -German claim that prisoners were taken it is not unlikely that some ofsd.be personnel of these vessels are in enemy hands. Highly-defended Base.

“To give some idea of the magnitude and difficulties of this remarkable achievement, it must be remembered that Alten Fiord, in which the Tirpitz lay, wiffi hundreds of miles from the nearest British base. The midget submarines were set the task of penetrating a highlydefended base where the enemy ships thought themselves safe. They hud to pass through minefields guarding the approaches to the anchorage, and, after negotiating the intricate fiords, always vigilantly patrolled by the enemy, they had to carry out the attack in the strongly-protected and confined waters where the ships were moored. Finally, to regain their base, the same obstacles had to be overcome. “The Admiralty considers that the crews of the midget submarines displayed

the highest qualities of courage, enterprise and skill. The names of the commanding officers of the midget submarines which did not return from this very gallaht enterprise and who undoubtedly pressed home the attack to the full, are: Lieutenant D. Cameron, R.N.R., Lieutenant Henry Greet, R.N.V.R., and Lieutenant B. C. G. Place, D.S.C., R.N.