The real X-men : the heroic story of the underwater war 1942-1945
Lyman, Robert2015
Books, Manuscripts
The thrilling and true story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the extraordinary men who crewed these dangerous vessels. The commando frogmen who rode the Chariots and operated as divers from the X-craft were the forerunners of today's Special Boat Service, the SBS. Their aim was to attach an explosive charge underneath an enemy ship to destroy the vessel. Their hope was to return to their submarine unscathed. 'The Real X-Men' tells the story of the sacrifice and heroism of the individual men, many of them little more than teenagers, who volunteered for this dangerous duty and who crewed both the Chariots and the X-craft without knowing the full extent of the risks entailed, nor indeed the very small chances they had of coming back alive.Includes chapters on Shetland based attacks on the Tirpitz using Chariots, the Arthur, the Shetland Bus and Royal Navy X-craft.The thrilling and true story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the extraordinary men who crewed these dangerous vessels. The commando frogmen who rode the Chariots and operated as divers from the X-craft were the forerunners of today's Special Boat Service, the SBS.
Main title:
Author:
Lyman, Robert, author
Imprint:
London : Quercus, 2015.
Collation:
xv, 314 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white) ; 24 cm
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9781784299934 (hbk)9781784291136 (ebook)
Dewey class:
940.5451940.5'451940.545940.55
LC class:
D784.G7
Local class:
940.545940.5451
Language:
English
Subject:
Index terms:
Shetland BusArthur (fishing boat)Tirpitz (battleship)
BRN:
488275