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Midget Submarine

 
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A midget submarine is any submarine
Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability....
 under 150 tons, typically operated by one or two but up to 6 or 8 crew, with 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 and operated.






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I was @ Marshalls Yard in Gainsborough UK, i came across a board relating to a midget submarine, it ...








Encyclopedia


A midget submarine is any submarine
Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability....
 under 150 tons, typically operated by one or two but up to 6 or 8 crew, with 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 and operated. Military types work with surface ships and submarines as mother ships. Civilian and non-combatant military types are generally called submersible
Submersible

A submersible is a type of underwater vessel with limited mobility which is typically transported to its area of operation by a surface vessel or large submarine....
s, and normally work with surface ships.

Most early submarines, such as the United States Navy
United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
's USS Holland (SS-1)
USS Holland (SS-1)

USS Holland was the United States Navy's first commissioned submarine, named for her Irish-American inventor, John Philip Holland, although not the first submarine of the US Navy, which was the 1862 USS Alligator ....
 and the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
's Holland 1
Holland 1

Holland 1 was the first submarine commissioned by the Royal Navy, the first in a six-boat batch of the Holland class submarine. She was lost in 1913 while under tow to the scrapyard following decommissioning and recovered in 1982 and put on display at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport where she can still be seen....
, would now be considered Midget submarines.

Military submarines


Uses

The best known role for midget submarines is probably harbour penetration although of World War two boats only the British X-craft and unsuccessful Welman submarine
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 never particularly successful....
 were specifically designed with this as their primary use. Japan's Ko-hyoteki class submarine
Ko-hyoteki class submarine

The class was a class of Japanese midget submarines used during World War II. They had hull numbers but no names. For simplicity, they are most often referred to by the hull number of the mother submarine....
s were originally designed to take part in a decisive clash of fleets however as circumstances changed they ended up operating in the harbour penetration role. Germany’s various World War two designs were mostly designed to attack allied shipping off landing beaches and harbours although the Seehund
Seehund

The Seehund , also known as Type XXVII, was a successful series of Nazi Germany midget submarines created during World War II. Designed in 1944, and operated by two man crews, the submarines were used by the Kriegsmarine during the closing months of the war, sinking 9 merchant vessels and damaging an additional 3, with 35 loss...
 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 recognisance and Seehund were used to carry supplies. A number of modern midget submarines have also built for the purpose of submarine rescue.

Armament

Midget submarines are commonly armed with torpedoes and mines. Alternatively they may carry timed explosive charges.

Listing of types by nation


Belgium

  • FNRS-2
    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....
     pioneering research submersible


Colombia

  • Narco submarine
    Narco submarine

    A narco submarine is a home-made marine vessel built by Illegal drug tradekers to smuggle their goods. They are especially known to be used by Colombian drug cartel members to export cocaine from Colombia to the United States....
     for smuggling


Finland

  • MIR (submersible)
    MIR (submersible)

    Mir is a self-propelled Deep Submergence Vehicle. The project was initially developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences along with Design Bureau Lazurith....
     for research and submarine rescue


France

  • FNRS-4 second generation research submersible
  • Nautile
    Nautile

    The Nautile is a manned submersible owned by Ifremer, the France Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea. Commissioned in 1984, the submersible can be operated at depths of up to 6 km ....
     research submersible to depth of 6 kilomeers.


Germany

Submarine S622
* Biber (324 built by AG Weser of Bremen)
  • Delphin
    Delphin

    The Delphin was a Germany midget submarine created during World War II. Designed in 1944, only three prototypes were created by the Kriegsmarine by the end of the war, all of which were destroyed....
     (2 built) 2-man 5-ton torpedo with top speed of 20 knots and submerged radius of 30 miles at 3 knots.
  • Hai (midget submarine)
    Hai (midget submarine)

    The Hai was an advanced model of the Marder -class midget submarines created in Germany during World War II. Its prototype performed poorly during test runs and therefore no other boats were produced....
      prototype of improved Marder.
  • Hecht
    Hecht (submarine)

    The Hecht , also known as Type XXVIIA, was a two-man all-electric Nazi Germany midget submarine created during World War II....
     type XXVIIA 2-man 12 ton submarine with 1 mine or 1 torpedo carried outboard to a range of 38 miles at 4 knots.
  • Marder
    Marder (midget submarine)

    The Marder was a German miniature submarine developed from the Neger. The craft was 8.3 meters long and unlike the Neger included a flooding tank in the nose allowing it to dive....
     (~300 built) similar to Neger with breathing apparatus to allow submerged operation.
  • Molch
    Molch

    The Molch was an unsuccessful, one-man series of Germany midget submarines created during World War II. Built in 1944, it was the first mini-submarine of the Kriegsmarine, but was not successful in combat operations and suffered heavy losses....
  • Neger
    Neger

    Neger was a Germany torpedo-carrying craft generally described as a miniature submarine although it couldn't dive. The vessel was used by the Kriegsmarine between 1943 and 1945....
     (~200 built) 1-man 5-ton torpedo with underslung G7E torpedo. Top speed 20 knots and range of 30 miles at 3 knots.
  • Seehund
    Seehund

    The Seehund , also known as Type XXVII, was a successful series of Nazi Germany midget submarines created during World War II. Designed in 1944, and operated by two man crews, the submarines were used by the Kriegsmarine during the closing months of the war, sinking 9 merchant vessels and damaging an additional 3, with 35 loss...
     type XXVIIB
  • V.80 4-man 76-ton prototype completed in 1940 to test Walther geared turbine propulsion system. Range was 50 miles at 28 knots.


Iran

  • Ghadir
  • Nahang


Italy