| Built By: | Broadbent (Huddersfield) |
| Build Group: | X |
Unofficially named Exemplar
Prior to the D-Day landings X20 spent four days off the French coast performing periscope reconnaissance of the shoreline and echo-soundings during daytime.
Each night X20 would approach the beach and 2 divers would swim ashore. Soil samples were collected in condoms. The divers went ashore on two nights to survey the beaches at Vierville-sur-Mer, Moulins St Laurent and Colleville-sur-Mer in what became the American Omaha Beach. On the third night, they were due to go ashore off the Orne Estuary (Sword Beach), but by this stage fatigue (the crew and divers had been living on little more than benzedrine tablets) and the worsening weather caused Hudspeth to shorten the operation, returning to Dolphin on 21 Jan 1944.
Hudspeth received a bar to his DSC Acted as lightship to help the D-Day invasion fleet land on the correct beaches
| 15-12-1944 | Completed |
| Length overall | 51 ft 7 inch |
| Beam | 8 ft 6 inch (with charges) |
| 5 ft 9 1/2 inch (without charges) | |
| Displacement | Without Charges: 27 tons (surface) |
| 29 1/2 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 300 ft |
| Speed | With Charges: 6.5 knots (surface) |
| With Charges: 5 knots (submerged) | |
| No. of shafts | 1 |
| Armament | 2 x 2-ton side charges |
| Limpet mines | |
| Endurance | Surface: 1320 miles at 4 knots (with charges) |
| Surface: 1860 miles at 4 knots (without charges) | |
| Submerged: 80 miles at 2 knots (with charges) | |
| Complement | 4 |
Alan joined HMS Explorer in 'refit' at Barrow in Furness shortly before the Submarine moved from the Graving Dock to a berth at the in the Dock System at the Admiralty Development Establishment, Barrow (ADEB). The 'refit' completed in August 1959 after a slight delay owing to a fire in the Turbine Room - caused by a VSEL Coppersmith working with a blow lamp in a cramped bilge space. Alan's comment 'Nasty.'
The author relates his experiences as a submarine commander for the British Royal Navy during World War II, describing patrols in the North Sea and the Mediterranean and enemy attacks that made submarine operations the most dangerous of combat services
14 pages added or updated in the last 2 month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
| Length overall | 51 ft 7 inch |
| Beam | 8 ft 6 inch (with charges) |
| 5 ft 9 1/2 inch (without charges) | |
| Displacement | Without Charges: 27 tons (surface) |
| 29 1/2 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 300 ft |
| Speed | With Charges: 6.5 knots (surface) |
| With Charges: 5 knots (submerged) | |
| No. of shafts | 1 |
| Armament | 2 x 2-ton side charges |
| Limpet mines | |
| Endurance | Surface: 1320 miles at 4 knots (with charges) |
| Surface: 1860 miles at 4 knots (without charges) | |
| Submerged: 80 miles at 2 knots (with charges) | |
| Complement | 4 |
Alan joined HMS Explorer in 'refit' at Barrow in Furness shortly before the Submarine moved from the Graving Dock to a berth at the in the Dock System at the Admiralty Development Establishment, Barrow (ADEB). The 'refit' completed in August 1959 after a slight delay owing to a fire in the Turbine Room - caused by a VSEL Coppersmith working with a blow lamp in a cramped bilge space. Alan's comment 'Nasty.'
The author relates his experiences as a submarine commander for the British Royal Navy during World War II, describing patrols in the North Sea and the Mediterranean and enemy attacks that made submarine operations the most dangerous of combat services
14 pages added or updated in the last 2 month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
This form is for you to comment on, or add additional information to this page. Any questions will be deleted. If you wish to ask a question contact the Branch or the Webmaster using the Contact Us page or ask your question on our Facebook Page