Operation Source was a series of attacks to neutralise the heavy German warships – ''Tirpitz'', ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Lützow'' – based in northern Norway, using X-class

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

s. The attacks took place in September 1943 at Kaafjord and succeeded in keeping ''Tirpitz'' out of action for at least six months. The concept for the attack was developed by Commander Cromwell-Varley, with support of Max Horton, Flag Officer Submarines, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The operation was directed from HMS ''Varbel'', located in

Port Bannatyne Port Bannatyne ( gd, Port MhicEamailinn) is a coastal village on the Isle of Bute, Firth of Clyde, Scotland that is home to many steamers. Port Bannatyne developed into the 1900s as a quieter and more unusual alternative to Rothesay. It is a pop ...

on the

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent is ...

. ''Varbel'' (named after Commanders Varley and Bell, designers of the X-Craft prototype) was the on-shore headquarters for the 12th Submarine Flotilla (midget submarines). It had been a luxury 88-bedroom hotel (the Kyles Hydropathic Hotel) requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as the flotilla’s headquarters. All X-craft training and preparation for X-craft attacks (including that on ''Tirpitz'') was co-ordinated from ''Varbel''. Intelligence contributing to the attack on ''Tirpitz'' was collected and sent to the Royal Navy by the Norwegian resistance, especially brothers Torbjørn Johansen and Einar Johansen.

Attack

Six X-craft were used. ''X5'', ''X6'' and ''X7'' were allocated the battleship ''Tirpitz'', in Kåfjord. ''X9'' and ''X10'' were to attack the battleship ''Scharnhorst'', also in Kåfjord. ''X8'' was to attack the heavy cruiser ''Lützow'' in Langfjord. The submersibles were towed to the area by conventional submarines ( HMS ''Truculent'' (''X6'') ''Syrtis'' (''X9''),Grove, p.124. ''Sea Nymph'' (''X8''),Grove, p. 127. ''Thrasher'' (''X5''), ''Stubborn'' (''X7''), and ''Sceptre'' (''X10'')) and manned by passage crews on the way. Close to the target, the operation crews would take over. ''X9'', while commanded by Sub-Lieutenant E. Kearon of the passage crew
Supplement to The London Gazette, p. 996 of the article or p. 4 of PDF file and probably trimmed heavily by the bow in the heavy sea for the tow, was lost with all hands on the passage when her tow parted and she suffered an abrupt plunge due to her bow-down trim. ''X8'' (passage crew commanded by Lieutenant John Elliott Smart, Jack Smart) developed serious leaks in her side-mounted demolition charges, which had to be jettisoned; these exploded, leaving her so damaged she had to be

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

. The remaining X-craft began their run in on 20 September, and the attacks took place on 22 September 1943 starting at 7:00 pm (1900 hours) that evening. ''Scharnhorst'' was engaged in exercises at the time, and hence was not at her normal mooring, ''X10s attack was abandoned, although this was due to mechanical and navigation problems, and the submarine returned to rendezvous with her 'tug' submarine and was taken back to Scotland. The Royal Navy during the Second World War A19637

The Royal Navy during the Second World War A19637

''X5'', commanded by Lieutenant Henty-Creer, disappeared with her crew during Source. She is believed to have been sunk by a direct hit from one of ''Tirpitz''s guns before placing demolition charges. There was a possibility ''X5'' had also successfully planted side charges before being destroyed, but this was never conclusively proven. An expedition jointly run by the late Carl Spencer (Britannic 2003), Bill Smith (Bluebird Project) and the Royal Navy using the mine hunters and in 2006 mapped the north and south anchorages used by ''Tirpitz'' and proved the charge was well inside the net enclosure of the north anchorage and therefore most likely from ''X6''. ''X6'' and ''X7'' managed to drop their charges under ''Tirpitz'', but were unable to escape as they were observed and attacked. Both were abandoned and six crewmen captured. Upon capture, the crewmen informed the German captain Hans Meyer that there would be explosions under ''Tirpitz'' within an hour. Meyer quickly attempted to move the ship away from the charges, but was unable to do so before the charges exploded. ''Tirpitz'' was heavily damaged. While not in danger of sinking, she took on over 1,400 tonsGrove, p.131. of water and suffered significant mechanical damage. The first mine exploded abreast of turret Caesar, and the second mine detonated off the port bow. A fuel oil tank was ruptured, shell plating was torn, a large indentation was made in the bottom of the ship, and bulkheads in the

double bottom A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some dis ...

buckled. Some of water flooded the ship in fuel tanks and void spaces in the double bottom of the port side, which caused a

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of one to two degrees, which was balanced by counter-flooding on the starboard side. The flooding damaged all of the turbo-generators in generator room No. 2, and all apart from one generator in generator room No. 1 were disabled by broken steam lines or severed power cables. Turret Dora was thrown from its bearings and could not be rotated; this was particularly significant, as there were no heavy-lift cranes in Norway powerful enough to lift the turret and place it back on its bearings. The ship's two

Arado Ar 196 The Arado Ar 196 was a shipboard reconnaissance low-wing monoplane aircraft built by the German firm of Arado starting in 1936. The next year it was selected as the winner of a design contest and became the standard aircraft of the ''Kriegsmari ...

floatplanes were thrown by the explosive concussion and completely destroyed. Repairs were conducted by the repair ship ; historians William Garzke and Robert Dulin remarked that the successful repair effort was "one of the most notable feats of naval engineering during the Second World War." Repairs lasted until 2 April 1944; full-speed trials were scheduled for the following day in Altafjord. On 12 November 1944, the ship was destroyed by

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, ...

bombers. For this action, the commanders of the craft,

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 ...

Donald Cameron Donald Cameron may refer to: Scottish Clan Cameron * Donald Cameron of Lochiel (c. 1695 or 1700–1748), 19th Chief, and his descendants: ** Donald Cameron, 22nd Lochiel (1769–1832), 22nd Chief ** Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1835–1905), Scot ...

(''X6'') and Basil Place (''X7''), were awarded the Victoria Cross, whilst Robert Aitken, Richard Haddon Kendall, and John Thornton Lorimer received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and Edmund Goddard the

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly awa ...

. The commander of ''X8'',

John Elliott Smart Lieutenant Commander John Elliott Smart (1 March 1916 – 3 February 2008) was an officer in the Royal Navy, who commanded one of the midget submarines that attacked the German cruiser ''Lützow'' and the Japanese cruiser ''Takao'' during the S ...

, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Henty-Creer of ''X5'' was not decorated, but was mentioned in dispatches.

X-craft and crews

* ''X-5'': unofficially named ''Platypus'', commanded by Lt. Henty Henty-Creer, crew S-Lt Nelson, Midshipman Malcolm, and ERA Mortiboys; passage crew Lt Terry-Lloyd (commanding), LS Element, Stoker Garrity. Henty-Creer, Nelson, Malcolm, and Mortiboys were killed in the attack, though ''X-5''s exact fate is unknown. * ''X-6'': named ''Piker II'', commanded by Lt

, crew Lt J. T. Lorimer, S-Lt. R. Kendall, and ERA Goddard; passage crew Lt Wilson (commanding), LS McGregor, and Stoker Oxley. Cameron earned a Victoria Cross (VC), Lorimer and Kendall the

(DSO), Goddard a

(CGM). * ''X-7'': unofficially named ''Pdinichthys'', commanded by Lt Basil Place, crew S-Lt Aitken, Lt Whittam, and ERA Whiteley; passage crew Lt Philip (commanding), LS J. J. Magennis, and Stoker Luck. (Place also earned a VC, Aitken the DSO, while Philip was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE); Whittam and Whiteley were killed.) * ''X-8'': commanded by Lt McFarlane, Royal Australian Navy (Smart was passage crew commander.) * ''X-9'': commanded by Lt Martin, RN, commanded by S-Lt E Kearon (passage crew) when it foundered on 16 September 1943 * ''X-10'': unofficially named ''Excalibur'',Grove, p. 128. commanded by Lt Hudspeth,

Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) was a reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy. Formation In late 1920, the Navy Board proposed the creation of an Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve scheme, with approaches made to ya ...

In popular culture

* The operation was later portrayed in the

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

war film ''

Above Us the Waves ''Above Us the Waves'' is a 1955 British war film about human torpedo and midget submarine attacks in Norwegian fjords against the German battleship ''Tirpitz''. Directed by Ralph Thomas, it is based on two true-life attacks by British commando ...

'', featuring

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

, which was based on both Operation "Source" and the earlier "

Chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nb ...

" human torpedo attacks on ''Tirpitz''. * The

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

war film '' Submarine X-1'' is loosely based on Operation "Source". * The Operation is featured in the 2003 video game Hidden & Dangerous 2 as a campaign mission.

Footnotes

;Notes ;Works consulted *

Attack

X-craft and crews

In popular culture

See also

Footnotes

Further reading