Royal Navy X Craft Submarine
The idea behind these small four man submarines was quite simple, to construct a small craft capable of operating in confined waters and deliver a large explosive charge to either an enemy vessel or construction.
They were to confined to carry torpedoes, in fact there was not enough room for the crew to stand upright inside them, so they carried a large ( 2 to 3 ton) explosive charge either side of the central hull, this charge was held to the submarine by a single bolt, the charge timer was then set, the charge then dropped by unwinding a large handle inside the hull, the charge then dropped off under the enemy ship (as in the case of the Tirpits) the submarine then withdrew and the charge went off. Unfortunately they had a habit of bobbing upwards when the charge was dropped, rather giving the game away.
The craft did not have much of a range so they would be taken to near the target area on the deck of another vessel or submarine, in most cases though they were towed by another submarine to just off shore of their target. To steer the boat the skipper had to stand on deck (held in place by a system of straps) steering with a pole mechanism attached to the top of the rudder, this they had to do at night in all weathers.
These craft were also fitted with a water lock to allow a crew man in divers gear to leave the submarine and attached limpet mines to enemy ships hulls. The crewmen of these submarines were indeed brave men, their missions were most often extremely hazardous and casualty rates on the craft were high.
Our set of white GRP mouldings consists of :The model has been primarily designed to submerge by the use of forward speed, operating the rear vane to dive, this makes it ideal for the beginner. However the hull has quite a bit of room inside and the experienced modeller should have no problem fitting her out with a pump for static diving. Originally it was designed for the modeller with restrictive carrying facilities such as a small car. When made up the"X Craft" makes a most unusual and eye catching model.
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