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X 9 (Pluto)

Built By: Markham and Co (Derbyshire)
Build Group: X
Fate: 16 September 1943 - Lost on passage to Norway to attack Scharnhorst

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Unofficially named Pluto

Related Pages
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Operation Source - September 1943

In September 1943 six in X-Craft were towed by six Submarines to attack German Capital Ships in the Kaa Fjord in Norway. In all (apart from the Towing Submarine Crew) forty-two X- Craft personnel took part in Operation Source, eighteen Passage Crew Members and twenty-four Operational Crew Members.

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Lt Cmdr Maxwell Henry Shean

A flotilla of mini-submarines set off to sink or cripple the mighty German battleship Tirpitz. Among the men behind this attack was Max Shean from Perth, a volunteer for one of World War II's most daring and hazardous naval missions. Shean's courage in command of the X-craft submarines in Europe and the Pacific earned him an unrivalled reputation as a leader whose aggressive instincts were always tempered by concern for his crew. He died on June 15, 2009, aged 90.

Roll of Honour
3
Died: 16-09-1946
Harte, Harry Albert  O/N C/JX 207081
Able Seaman Died: 16-09-1946 Aged: 32
Lost in Operation Source, raid on Tirpitz
Hollet, George Henry  O/N D/KX 151674
Stoker 1st Class Died: 16-09-1946 Aged: 19
Lost in Operation Source, raid on Tirpitz
Kearon, Edward 
Sub Lieutenant Died: 16-09-1946 Aged: 22
Lost in Operation Source, raid on Tirpitz

Events

 29-01-1943   Completed
 16-09-1943   On 11th September 1943 X9 left Loch Cairnbawn under tow from HMS Syrtis to take part in the attack on the Scharnhorst. During the passage the Syrtis remained on the surface, whilst the x-craft, manned by a passage crew, remained dived. The midget submarine was due to surface at regular intervals to ventilate. On the 16th Syrtis made the signal for the x-craft to surface. There was no reply. At this point the tow was hauled in and was found to have parted and despite an extensive search, no sign of X9 was ever found.
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