A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched and recovered and which provide living accommodation for the crew and 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 would now be considered midget submarines, such as the United States Navy's and the British Royal Navy's (both named for the same

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

Military submarines

Uses

Midget submarines are best known for harbor penetration, although only two World War II boats, the British

X-craft The X class was a World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during 1943–44. It was substantially larger than the original Chariot manned torpedo. Known individually as X-Craft, the vessels were designed to be towed to thei ...

and the unsuccessful

Welman submarine The Welman submarine was a Second World War one-man British midget submarine developed by the Special Operations Executive. It only saw action once and was not particularly successful. Design Designed by the Commanding Officer of SOE's Inter S ...

, 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 were given the task of harbor penetration. Germany's various

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

designs were mostly designed to attack Allied shipping off landing beaches and harbors, although the ''

Seehund ''Seehund'' (German: "seal"), also known as Type XXVII, was a midget submarine built by Nazi Germany during World War II. Designed in 1944 and operated by two-man crews, it was used by the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German Navy) during the closing month ...

'' 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. Human torpedoes may be considered a type of midget submarine.

Armament

Midget submarines are commonly armed with torpedoes and mines in the form of, for example, detachable side loads and nose sections. Alternatively they may function as swimmer delivery vehicles to deliver

frogmen A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some European countries, police work. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver, comb ...

to the vicinity of their targets, which are then attacked with

limpet mines A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets. It is so named because of its superficial similarity to the shape of the limpet, a type of sea snail that clings tightly to rocks or other hard surfaces. A swimmer or diver ...

Civilian

In civilian use, midget submarines are generally called

submersible A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of ind ...

s; commercial submersibles are used in, for example, underwater maintenance, exploration, archaeology, and scientific research. Other commercially available submersibles are marketed as novelty tourist attractions and as specialised tenders for wealthy yacht owners. Also, a growing number of amateur submariners homebuild submersibles as a hobby.

Types by nation

Belgium

FNRS-2 The ''FNRS-2'' was the first bathyscaphe. It was created by Auguste Piccard. Work started in 1937 but was interrupted by World War II. The deep-diving submarine was finished in 1948. The bathyscaphe was named after the Belgian Fonds Nationa ...

pioneering research submersible

Colombia

* S.X.506 a 70-ton 5-man crew midget submarine designed by Italian shipbuilder Cosmos as a development of earlier S.X.404 by the same firm. Displacement is 58/70 t (surfaced/submerged), length is 23 m, beam is 2 m, draft is 4 m, and speed is 8.5/7 kn (surfaced/submerged). At a speed of 7 kn, range is 1200/60 nmi (surfaced/submerged). Payload includes externally attached torpedoes and swimmer delivery vehicles, and up to 8 divers can be carried in addition to the 5-man crew.

Finland

MIR ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

for research and submarine rescue

France

* FNRS-4 second generation research submersible *

Nautile ''Nautile'' is a crewed submersible owned by Ifremer, the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea. Commissioned in 1984, the submersible can be operated at depths of up to . ''Nautile'' is capable of housing three people. It has a ...

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 an 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 ''Delphin'' (dolphin) was a midget submarine created during World War II. Designed in 1944, only three prototypes were created by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine by the end of the war, all of which were destroyed. The ''Delphin'' was built for under ...

(2 built) 2-man 5-ton torpedo with top speed of and submerged radius of at . *

Hai (midget submarine) ''Hai'' (shark) was an advanced model of the Marder (submarine), Marder-class midget submarines created in Nazi Germany during World War II and operated by the K-Verband. Its prototype performed poorly during test runs and therefore no other boats ...

prototype of improved Marder. *

Hecht Hecht may refer to: *Hecht (surname) * Hecht, a pop rock band from Lucerne, Switzerland. * Hecht's, a chain of department stores, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company * Hecht Museum at Haifa University in Israel * ''Hec ...

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 Marder may refer to: German military vehicles * A series of World War II tank destroyers: ** Marder I ** Marder II ** Marder III * Marder (IFV), a modern infantry fighting vehicle * Marder (submarine), a World War II midget submarine People with ...

(~300 built) similar to Neger with breathing apparatus to allow submerged operation. *

Molch ''Molch'' (German language: "newt" or "salamander") was an unsuccessful series of one-man midget submarines created during World War II. Built in 1944, it was the first mini-submarine of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'', but was not successful in ...

Completely electric motor driven WWII (1944–1945) Midget submarine. Total 393 built. *

Schwertwal ''Schwertwal'' (German for Orca, lit. "Sword Whale") was a German miniature submarine design that reached the trial stage in late April 1945. It had a crew of two and was designed to have a high subsurface speed of around 20 knots. The high spe ...

(Grampus) Designed as super-fast Walter-type midget boat, but the prototype was not complete when scuttled in May 1945. *

Neger The ''Neger'' (German for ''Negro'') was a torpedo-carrying craft generally described as a human torpedo which could not submerge, but was difficult to see during night operations. The vessel was used by Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' between ...

(~200 built) 1-man 5-ton torpedo with underslung G7E torpedo. Top speed 20 knots and range of 30 miles at 3 knots. *

type XXVIIBTaylor, J.C. ''German Warships of World War II'' Doubleday & Company (1967) p.110 Most successful midget submarine in the Kriegsmarine. Operational deployment was between January 1945 – April 1945. * 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 * Orca class post-war midget submarine: 13.27 meter x 2.1 meter 5 men midget submarine with maximum depth of 100, maximum underwater speed of 5 kn, maximum range of 150 nmi, maximum endurance of 4 days, and maximum payload of 250 kg. Periscopes includes television camera, HF/HF communication and GPS antenna. There is also an underwater television camera and obstacle avoidance sonar with an effective range of 200 m. The low acoustic and magnetic signature midget sub displaces 28 t, powered by two computerized permanent magnetic electric motors that drive a single shaft low-cavitation and low noise propeller, which is controlled by fly-by-wire control system that is usually adopted for aircraft. The pressure hull is a modular design consisted of four modules that enables easy transportation and maintenance.

India

The

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

is planning to acquire two midget submarines at an estimated cost of ₹2000

Crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...

s for use as swimmer delivery vehicles. These submarines will be used for conducting underwater special operations by

MARCOS Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portugue ...

. Both submarines will be constructed by

Hindustan Shipyard Limited Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is a shipyard located in Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India. History Founded as the ''Scindia Shipyard'', it was built by industrialist Walchand Hirachand as a part of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company ...

Indonesia

The

Indonesian Navy The Indonesian Navy ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, , Indonesian National Military-Naval Force, TNI-AL) is the naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol I ...

has shown some interest in having a new Midget-class submarine, built by local shipyards, for coastal rather than open water patrol. The submarine was designed a number of years ago by a retired Indonesian Navy submariner officer, Colonel (Ret) Ir. R. Dradjat Budiyanto, Msc. The midget experiment project involves the construction of a submarine, designated MIDGET IM X −1, which will weigh about 150 – 250 tonnes, with a tubular frame design 24 – 30 meters long, and four torpedo tubes. The submarines will have minimum of 8 – 10 crew members including officers. They will have a 40 km range non-hull-penetrating optronic mast as the attack periscope, and a 20 km range navigation periscope. Indonesian defence minister

Purnomo Yusgiantoro Purnomo Yusgiantoro (born 16 June 1951 in Semarang, Central Java) is an Indonesian politician, he is a former secretary-general of OPEC, former Indonesian Minister of Energy for three presidents, and former Minister of Defense in the Second Unite ...

has backed the project. Construction should commence at the Indonesian PT.PAL INDONESIA shipyard by late 2011, and will take about three or four years to complete. If this schedule is met, the Indonesian Navy expects to be commissioning the first Midget Class submarine in 2014.

Iran

Ghadir Ghadir or Ghadeer ( ar, غدير , link=no) means ''hollow'' or ''pond'' in Arabic. It may refer to: Places * Ghadir, a village in Keserwan District, Lebanon * Ghadir-e Sab, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * Ghadir Kuhi, a village in Hor ...

* Nahang

Italy

* ''Siluro a Lenta Corsa'' (SLC), also known as ''Maiale'' (pig), a low speed human torpedo. On December 3, 1941, ''Sciré'' departed La Spezia carrying three Maiale to conduct what became the

Raid on Alexandria (1941) The Raid on Alexandria was carried out on 19 December 1941 by Italian Navy divers of the Decima Flottiglia MAS, who attacked and disabled two Royal Navy battleships in the harbour of Alexandria, Egypt, using manned torpedoes. Background On 3 D ...

. At the island of

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flight fr ...

in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

, six

Decima Flottiglia MAS The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...

crewmen came aboard, including

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Luigi Durand de la Penne Luigi Durand de la Penne (11 February 1914 – 17 January 1992) was an Italian Navy admiral who served as naval diver in the Decima MAS during World War II. De la Penne was born in Genoa, where he also died. De la Penne graduated from the Ital ...

. On December 18 ''Sciré'' released the manned torpedoes 1.3 miles from Alexandria commercial harbor, and they entered the harbor when the British opened the boom defence to let three of their

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s pass. After many difficulties, de la Penne and his crewmate Emilio Bianchi successfully attached a limpet mine under , but had to surface as they attempted to leave and were captured. They refused to answer when questioned and were detained in a compartment aboard ''Valiant''. Fifteen minutes before the explosion, de la Penne asked to speak to the ''Valiants captain and informed him of the imminent explosion but refused to give other information. He was returned to the compartment and neither he or Bianchi were injured by the detonation of the mine. The other four torpedo-riders were also captured, but their mines sank ''Valiant'', the battleship , the Norwegian tanker ''Sagona'' and badly damaged the destroyer . The two battleships sank in only a few feet of water and were subsequently re-floated. Nevertheless, they were out of action for over a year. *

Bathyscaphe Trieste ''Trieste'' is a Swiss-designed, Italian-built deep-diving research bathyscaphe which reached a record depth of about in the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench near Guam in the Pacific. On 23 January 1960, Jacques Piccard (son of the boat's ...

was first to explore the

Challenger Deep The Challenger Deep is the deepest-known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathym ...

of the

Mariana Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum know ...

* 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 * MG 120: MG 120 Shallow water attack submarine (SWATS) is a development of MG 110 in Pakistani service with the displacement is increased to 130 t submerged, range is 1600 nmi @ 7 kn surfaced, 60 nmi @ 4.5 kn submerged, and the number of divers carried is drastically increased to 15. * MG 130: MG 130 is a development of MG 120 with AIP module called UAPE (Underwater Auxiliary Propulsion Engine) based on a closed circuit diesel fueled by liquid oxygen, which provides an underwater range of 400 nmi (740 km).

Japan

* Type A ''Kō-hyōteki''-class midget submarines were used in the 1941

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, the 1942

attack on Sydney Harbour In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three ''Ko-hyoteki''-class midget submarine ...

, and the 1942

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

attack on Diego Suarez Harbor, in which the

type 97 torpedo The Type 97 was a diameter torpedo used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Intended for use with Japan's ''Kō-hyōteki''-class midget submarines, the torpedo was based on the 24-inch diameter Type 93 "Long Lance" used by Japane ...

was used operationally. The wreckage of one of the submarines sunk at Pearl Harbor was located by NOAA's Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) in August 2002. Photographic analysis conducted by the

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

in 1999 indicated that one of the five ''Ko-hyoteki''-class submarines managed to enter Pearl Harbor, and successfully fired a torpedo into . On 29 May 1942, one of two midget submarines managed to enter the Diego Suarez harbor and fire two torpedoes. One torpedo seriously damaged the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

, while the second sank the oil tanker ''British Loyalty'' (6,993 tons). Shinnkai 6500 01

* Type B ''Kō-hyōteki''-class 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 ''Kō-hyōteki''-class Midget Ha 62–76 similar to Type A with crew of 3 and range increased to at surfaced or at submerged. * Type D ''Kō-hyōteki''-class, also called ''Kōryū'' class (115 completed) improved Type C with crew of 5 and range increased to at surfaced and at submerged.Watts, Anthony J. ''Japanese Warships of World War II'' Doubleday & Company (1967) p.216 * * ''Kaiten'' submarine suicide torpedo. * DSV ''Shinkai'' research submersible, capable of diving to a depth of

North Korea

Yugo-class submarine The Yugo class submarine is a class of four midget submarines used primarily for infiltration and espionage by North Korea. The Yugo class was given its name because it was built to plans supplied to North Korea by Yugoslavia in 1965. Design T ...

Yono-class submarine The Yono-class submarine (occasionally confused with Yugo-class) is a class of North Korean miniature submarines, produced for domestic use as well as for export. Also referred to as the Yeono class, these submarines displace 130 tons, signifi ...

(see also ROKS ''Cheonan'' sinking)

South Korea

* S.X.756: Developed by Italian shipbuilder Cosmos as a successor of earlier S.X.506 midget submarine in Colombian service. Length is increased to 25.2 m and beam is increased to 2.1 m in comparison to its predecessor S.X.506, and displacement is increased to 73/80 t (surfaced/submerged). Crew is increased by one to a total of 6, but the total number of divers carried remained the same at 8. Range is 1600 nmi @ 6 kn surfaced, and 60 nmi @ 4 kn submerged, and payload remains the same. * Dolgorae class midget sub

Pakistan

* MG 110 class midget submarine: Developed by Italian shipbuilder Cosmos as a successor of earlier S.X.756 midget submarine in South Korean service. MG 110 is a slightly enlarged version of S.X.756 with length increased to 27.28 m, diameter increased to 2.3 m, and displacement increased to 102/110 t (surfaced/submerged). Range is 1200 nmi surfaced, and the submerged range remain the same. Payload and crew are also identical to that of its predecessor S.X.756 midget submarine.

China

Type 7103 DSRV The People's Republic of China developed a class of 35-ton deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It was first tested in 1986 and operational in 1989. The DSRV may perform a rescue at depths up to . S ...

s * Osprey class submersibles * Sea Pole class bathyscaphe * Dragon class bathyscaphe * Harmony class bathyscaphe * Mobile diving bell * QSZ-II submersible

Poland

* Blotniak *

Living torpedoes Living torpedoes ( pl, Żywe torpedy; also ''Straceńcy'' ("the Desperates" or "the Lost") was a social and military phenomenon that began in the Second Polish Republic, Poland in mid-1939, when the threat from Nazi Germany became evident. The i ...

Taiwan

*2 Italian Cos.Mo.S CE2F/X100 post-war torpedo chariots *2 Italian Cos.Mo.S S.X.404 midget submarines: S-1 Haijiao (海蛟), S-2 Hailong (海龍), in service from October 8, 1969, to November 1, 1973. S.X.404 is a 70-ton 4-man crew submarine design by Cosmos. Four were sold to Colombia and two to Taiwan in the 1970s. Displaced is 40/70 t (surfaced/submerged), speed is 11/6.5 kn (surfaced/submerged), range is 1200/60 nmi (surfaced/submerged) @ respective maximum speed. Payload included externally attached torpedoes or mines, or swimmer delivery vehicles.

Romania

* CB class, during World War II, Romania owned five midget submarines.

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. *APL and Pygmy projects – two boats were constructed in 1935-1936, tested, but later abandoned * Losos class submarine

Spain

* Foca class submarine (design begun in 1957, entering service in 1962): A total of 2 units built, SA 41 & SA 42. Displacement is 16/20 t (surfaced/submerged), with a crew of 3, and armed with two 21 in torpedo tubes. Stricken in 1971. Not to be confused with World War II era Italian

Foca-class submarine The ''Foca'' class were a group of three minelaying submarines built for the (Royal Italian Navy) during the 1930s. All three sister ships played minor roles during the Second World War. One was lost to unknown causes while trying to lay a min ...

. * Tiburón class submarine (design begun in 1958, entering service in 1964): A total of 2 units built, SA 51 & SA 52. Displacement is 78/81 t (surfaced/submerged), with a crew of 5, and armed with two 21 in torpedo tubes. Stricken in 1971.

Sweden

* Spiggen II class midget submarine: 6 man crew midget sub displaces 14 t when submerged, with 5 kn speed and endurance of 2 weeks. Length: 11 m, beam: 1.4 m, height: 1.7 m. * Sea Dagger midget submarine developed by

Kockums Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab Group. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Koc ...

: a midget submarine of modular design with length of 16 – 20 m depending on various configurations totaling 4, including training, reconnaissance, diver delivery and small attack versions. All versions are consisted of 3 modules, two of which are identical for all versions, the bow and stern modules. The midsection has 4 modules to choose from, each for a specific mission. All versions lack the sail. * UVS-1300 Malen Originally built for navy purposes as sonar target. Midget submarine: 4 man crew midget sub displaces 11 t when submerged, with 5 kn speed and endurance of at least 1 week depending on fuel carried. Length: 10 m, beam: 1.4 m, height: 1.7 m.

Turkey

The Turkish navy has evaluated two midget submarine designs from German firm

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany (often abbreviated TKMS) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deutsc ...

, Type 200 and Type 300 classes: * Type 200: Displacement: 200 t surfaced, length: 25 m, beam: 4.2 m, draft 3.1 m, speed: 8 kn surfaced, range: 2100 nmi @ 8 kn surfaced, endurance: 2 weeks, armament: 2 21-in torpedo tubes with a maximum of 4 torpedoes, crew: 6 + 12 divers. * Type 300: Displacement: 300 t surfaced, length: 30 m, beam: 4.2 m, draft 3.1 m, speed: 12 kn surfaced, range: 3100 nmi @ 8 kn surfaced, endurance: 2 weeks, armament: 2 21- in torpedo tubes with a maximum of 6 torpedoes, crew: 12.

United Kingdom

The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

has used a number of midget submarines. Most were developed during the Second World War. The decommissioning of the Stickleback class 1958–early 1960s marked the end of midget submarines designed for combat in the Royal Navy. *

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

Motorized Submersible Canoe (MSC): developed by

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

Station IX during the Second World War. *

Chariot manned torpedo The Chariot was a British manned torpedo used in World War II. The Chariot was inspired by the operations of Italian naval commandos, in particular the raid on 19 December 1941 by members of the Decima Flottiglia MAS who rode "''Maiali"'' human to ...

: the British developed two types of manned torpedoes; the Chariot Mark I, of 1.6 ton, and the Chariot Mark II, of 2.3 ton. Sixty-four units were built. * Stickleback class: a post Second World War development of the XE class. * X class: used to attack

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

warships in the north of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. One notable target of a successful attack was the

'' Tirpitz''. The submarines had a crew of three (plus a diver) and carried two large

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

s containing

Amatol Amatol is a highly explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate. The British name originates from the words ammonium and toluene (the precursor of TNT). Similar mixtures (one part dinitronaphthalene and seven parts ammoniu ...

– one on each side. Their strategy was to lay mines on the sea bottom beneath the target, set a time

fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...

, and leave. * XE class: used in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where they carried out a number of attacks and special missions. *

: a single-person submersible widely considered a failure. * Welfreighter: a Station IX-developed special operations submersible with two crew and up to four passengers, designed to resemble a motorboat when surfaced. Over 100 were produced, beginning in September 1944; the extent of operational use is unclear.

United States

* Advanced SEAL Delivery System: canceled in 2009 due to cost overruns and reliability issues, and the only sub was destroyed in a fire in 2008. * ''

Aluminaut ''Aluminaut'' (built in 1964) was the world's first aluminum submarine. An experimental vessel, the 80-ton, crewed deep-ocean research submersible was built by Reynolds Metals Company, which was seeking to promote the utility of aluminum. ''A ...

'': the first aluminium submarine, used to recover sunken items, including DSV ''Alvin'' and an unarmed nuclear bomb. *

Bathyscaphe Trieste II ''Trieste II'' (DSV-1) was the successor to ''Trieste''—the United States Navy's first bathyscaphe purchased from its Swiss designers. History The original ''Trieste'' design was heavily modified by the Naval Electronics Laboratory in San Die ...

(DSV-1): a sister ship to the Swiss-built

* DSV ''Alvin'' (DSV-2): performed thousands of dives, including one that explored the wreck of the . * ''Nemo'' (DSV-5): an acronym for Naval Experimental Manned Observatory, a test vehicle operated by the Navy from 1970 to 1986. ''Nemo'' was a spherical submersible with a transparent acrylic hull, and its primary purpose was to evaluate the utility of the panoramic vision enabled by its design. ''Nemo'' was found to be an effective observation platform, despite not being able to hover in place, and acrylic-hulled submersibles have continued to be built and operated in the US. * DSRV-1 ''Mystic'': a

Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle A deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) is a type of deep-submergence vehicle used for rescue of downed submarines and clandestine missions. While DSRV is the term most often used by the United States Navy, other nations have different design ...

formerly operated by the US Navy. ''Mystic'' was replaced by the

Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System The Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System (SRDRS) is a remotely operated underwater vehicle and its associated systems intended to replace the Mystic class deep submergence rescue vehicle as a means of rescuing United States Navy submarin ...

(SRDRS) in 2008 and donated to the

Naval Undersea Museum The United States Naval Undersea Museum is a naval museum located at Keyport, Washington. It is one of the 10 Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command. It sits next to a branch of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. ...

. *

Dry Combat Submersible The Dry Combat Submersible (DCS) is a midget submarine designed and manufactured for USSOCOM by MSubs Ltd, a UK company located in Plymouth, Devon. MSubs is wholly owned by Submergence Group LLC, a Texas-based company that provides the linkages i ...

(DCS): a US Navy submarine under development by

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

for transporting

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Naval Special Wa ...

to and from a mission site. It is the planned replacement for the cancelled Advanced SEAL Delivery System. * USS ''X-1'': an experimental US Navy midget submarine of the 1950s, used to explore how to defend harbors against attacks by very small submarines."Navy Tests First Midget Submarine As Close In Weapon"
''Popular Mechanics'', February 1956, p. 124, bottom of page.

Former Yugoslavia

* ''Una''-class midget submarine. After the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

, both Croatia and

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...

held examples. Length: 18 m, beam: 3.7 m, diameter: 2.5 m, displacement: 76 t surfaced, 90 t submerged, crew: 4 + 6 divers. Surfaced and submerged speed is 4 kn for both, and the range is 200 nmi surfaced, 50 nmi submerged both @ 4 kn. M-100 lacks

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

and its battery can only be charged when surfaced. Up to 4 R-1 swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV)s or two light (400 mm) torpedoes can be carried. * Type M-100D class midget submarine. Development of Type M-100 Una class. Displacement is increased to around 88/100 t (surfaced/submerged), and the length is increased to approximately 21 m, beam is increased to 4.42 m, and diameter to 2.7 m. Speed is increased to 8/11 kn (surfaced/submerged), and range is increased to 550 nmi surfaced @ 10 kn when surfaced, and that of submerged remains the same as its predecessor M-100 Una class while the payload and crew also remain unchanged. A sail is added and its battery can be charged while submerged.

References

External links

* {{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries