The ''Stickleback''-class submarines were midget submarines of the British Royal Navy initially ordered as improved versions of the older s. They were designed to allow British defences to practice defending against midget submarines since it was theorised that the Soviet Union had or could develop such craft. The Royal Navy developed plans to use these craft to carry a 15-kiloton nuclear naval mine (based on the Red Beard weapon) codenamed Cudgel into Soviet harbours. The project was unsuccessful as there were problems finding and paying for the necessary fissile material.

Boats

There were four boats, launched 1954–1955:Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 527 *X51 ''Stickleback'', launched 1 October 1954, sold to the Royal Swedish Navy in 1958 and was renamed ''Spiggen'' (Swedish name for "Stickleback"). After a period on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and then in storage at

Portsmouth Naval Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

, X51 was moved to the

Scottish Submarine Centre The Scottish Submarine Centre (SSC) is a submarine Maritime museum, naval museum in west Scotland. History It opened on 11 November 2017. Structure It is situated on the A818 road (Great Britain), A818. See also * Royal Navy Submarine Museum in ...

in Helensburgh, where it has been on display since 2018. *X52 ''Shrimp'', launched October 1954, scrapped 1965 *X53 ''Sprat'', launched 30 December 1954, loaned to US Navy 1958, scrapped 1966 *X54 ''Minnow'', launched 5 May 1955, scrapped 1966

References

* * Submarine classes {{UK-mil-submarine-stub