thumb|300px|Japanese Type D ("Koryu") Midget Submarines In a partially flooded drydock at Kure Naval Base, Japan, February 1946
A
midget submarine is any
submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation. Midget submarines normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched and recovered, and which provide living accommodation for the crew and other support staff.
Both military and civilian midget submarines have been built. Military types work with surface ships and other submarines as mother ships. Civilian and non-combatant military types are generally called
submersibles, and normally work with surface ships.
Most early submarines, such as the
United States Navy's
USS Holland (SS-1) and the
British Royal Navy's
Holland 1, would now be considered midget submarines.
Military submarines
Uses
The best known role for midget submarines is probably harbour penetration, although only two World War Two boats, the British X-craft and the unsuccessful
Welman submarine were specifically designed with this in mind. Japan's
Ko-hyoteki class submarines were originally designed to take part in decisive fleet actions. However, as circumstances changed, they ended up tasked with harbour penetration. Germany’s various
World War II designs were mostly designed to attack Allied shipping off landing beaches and harbours, although the
Seehund had a great enough range to attack shipping off the Thames estuary.
Midget submarines have also seen some use in support roles. X-craft were used for reconnaissance, and the Seehund was used to carry supplies. A number of modern midget submarines have also been built for submarine rescue.
Armament
Midget submarines are commonly armed with torpedoes and mines. Alternatively, they may carry timed explosive charges.
Types by nation
Belgium
- FNRS-2 pioneering research submersible
Colombia
Finland
France
- FNRS-4 second generation research submersible
- Nautile research submersible to depth of 6 kilometers
France also acquired a number of German midget submarines at the end of WW2.
Germany
Most German midget submarines were developed late in World War II in a attempt to stop the Allied invasion of Europe and used later to disrupt its supply lines. As a result, the submarines mostly engaged in open water attacks rather than harbour penetration.
- Biber (324 built by AG Weser of Bremen)
[Lenton, H.T. GERMAN WARSHIPS of the Second World War Arco Publishing (1976) pp.285-286]
- Delphin (2 built) 2-man 5-ton torpedo with top speed of and submerged radius of at .
- Hecht type XXVIIA 2-man 12 ton submarine with 1 mine or 1 torpedo carried outboard to a range of 38 miles at 4 knots.
[Taylor, J.C. German Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1967) p.109]
- Marder (~300 built) similar to Neger with breathing apparatus to allow submerged operation.
- Neger (~200 built) 1-man 5-ton torpedo with underslung G7E torpedo. Top speed 20 knots and range of 30 miles at 3 knots.
- Seehund type XXVIIB
[Taylor, J.C. German Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1967) p.110]
- V.80 4-man 76-ton prototype completed in 1940 to test Walther geared turbine propulsion system. Range was at .
[Lenton, H.T. GERMAN WARSHIPS of the Second World War Arco Publishing (1976) p.212]
Iran
Italy
thumb|An Italian CB class submarine- Siluro a Lenta Corsa (SLC) low speed torpedo chariot
- CA type First series was a 2 man midget submarine the second series carried a crew of three.
- CB type 45 ton 4 man design first introduced in 1941
- CE2F/X100 post-war torpedo chariot
- SX404 a 70 ton submarine design. 4 were sold to Columbia and 4 to Taiwan in the 1970s.
Japan
- Type B Midget Ha 45 prototype built 1942 to test Type A improvements.
[Watts, Anthony J. Japanese Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1967) p.213]
- Type C Midget Ha 62-76 similar to Type A with crew of 3 and radius increased to at surfaced or at submerged.
- Type D Koryu (115 completed) improved Type C with crew of 5 and radius increased to 1000 miles at 8 knots surfaced and 320 miles at 16 knots submerged.
[Watts, Anthony J. Japanese Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1967) p.216]
- DSV Shinkai research submersible to a depth of 6.5 kilometers.
North Korea
Poland
Russia
- In the late 19th century Russia built a class of treadle powered submarines 4.5 meters in length designed by Stefan Drzewiecki they were withdrawn from service in 1886.
Spain
- SA-50 of the Tiburón class
United Kingdom
The
Royal Navy has used a number of midget submarines. Most were developed during WW2. The decommissioning of the Stickleback class marked the end of Midget submarines designed for combat in the Royal Navy.
- X class were used to attack German warships in the North of Norway. One notable target of a successful attack was the battleship Tirpitz. The submarines had a crew of three (plus a diver) and carried two large mines containing Amatol – one on each side. Their strategy was to lay mines on the sea bottom beneath the target, set a time fuse, and exit.
United States
thumb|right|The US X-1 at seaYugoslavia
See also
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