The Stickleback-class submarines were midget submarines of the British Royal Navy initially ordered as improved versions of the older XE-class submarines. They were designed to allow British defences to practice defending against midget submarines since it was theorised that the Soviet Union had or could develop such craft.[1]
 X51 Stickleback at Imperial War Museum Duxford
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Stickleback class |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Midget submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length |
|
| Beam | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Draught | 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) |
| Propulsion | 1 shaft diesel electric, 1 Perkins P6 6 cyl diesel, 1 electric motor, 50 bhp/44 shp |
| Speed |
|
| Complement | 5 |
| Armament | 2 detachable 2-ton side charges |
The Royal Navy developed plans to use these craft to carry a 15-kiloton nuclear naval mine (based on the Red Beard weapon) codenamed Cudgel into Soviet harbours.[1] The project was unsuccessful as there were problems finding and paying for the necessary fissile material.[2]
Boats
editThere were four boats, launched 1954–1955:[2]
- X51 Stickleback, launched 1 October 1954, sold to the Royal Swedish Navy in 1958 and was renamed Spiggen (Swedish name for "Stickleback"). After a period on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and then in storage at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, X51 was moved to the Scottish Submarine Centre[3] in Helensburgh, where it has been on display since 2018.[4]
- X52 Shrimp, launched October 1954, scrapped 1965
- X53 Sprat, launched 30 December 1954, loaned to US Navy 1958, scrapped 1966
- X54 Minnow, launched 5 May 1955, scrapped 1966
Citations
edit- ^ a b Paloczi-Horvath, George (1996). From Monitor to Missile Boat Coast Defence Ships and Coastal Defence since 1860. Conway Maritime Press. p. 120. ISBN 0-85177-650-7.
- ^ a b Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 527
- ^ ((http://www.scottishsubmarine.com))
- ^ "X-51 is here! Helensburgh museum's submarine arrives in Scotland". Helensburgh Advertiser. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
References
edit- Preston, Antony (2001). The Royal Navy submarine service : a centennial history. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 978-0851778914.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557501327.