Midget Submarines 1939–45

Explores the daring World War II naval raids using midget submarines, featuring firsthand accounts and submarine recoveries.

Some of the most daring naval raids undertaken during World War II involved the use of midget submarines—craft of under 150 tons and crewed by just a handful of men—including Japanese midget submarines deployed at Pearl Harbor, the British X-craft attack on the Tirpitz in a Norwegian fjord protected by layers of antisubmarine defenses, an Italian Maiale attaching limpet mines to the HMS Valiant, and German craft attacking Allied shipping off landing beaches.

This Casemate Illustrated Special features all classes of midget subs and human torpedoes designed and used during World War II and explores how they were used. It also features the recovery of various wrecks of German, British, Japanese, and Italian midget submarines, including the search for the midget submarines sunk at Pearl Harbor in 1941. The final chapter features the restoration, testing and successful operation of a German Biber midget submarine.

Period photographs, artwork, and exterior and interior images of the many midget submarines preserved in museums accompany the expert text.