A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by one or two but up to 6 or 8 crew, with no on-board living accommodation. A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability Midget submarines normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched and recovered, and which provide living accommodation for the crew and other support staff.

Both military and civilian midget submarines have been built and operated. Military types work with surface ships and submarines as mother ships. Civilian and non-combatant military types are generally called submersibles, and normally work with surface ships. A submersible, or Bathyscaphe, is a type of Underwater vessel with limited mobility which is typically transported to its area of operation by a surface

Some 80 Type D Kairyu class submarines and four Type A or Type C subs in a drydock at Kure, October 19, 1945

Military — World War II

Japan

Five Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarines were used in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, in which the type 97 torpedo was used operationally. History Over 760 of these submarines were planned and by August 1945 about 213 had been manufactured was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar History Fifty were built The "A Target" name was assigned as a ruse—if their design was prematurely discovered by Japan's foes the Japanese Navy could insist that The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by The Type 97 was a diameter torpedo used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II However, most of the midget submarines floated completely off course and never even hit anything. One of these five midget submarines was shot and sunk by the USS Ward as it was spotted trying to enter Pearl Harbor. History Ward was named in honor of Commander James H Ward, USN (1806&ndash1861 the first U The wreckage of the submarine was located by NOAA's Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) in August 2002.

Photographic analysis conducted by the United States Naval Institute in 1999 indicates one of the five Ko-hyoteki-class submarines managed to enter Pearl Harbor, and successfully fired a torpedo into the USS West Virginia. The U S Naval Institute (USNI, based at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland, is a non-profit professional military association that seeks to offer independent 1923 – 1941 In the months that followed West Virginia ran her trials and shakedown and underwent post-commissioning alterations The submarine's final resting place is unknown.

This conclusion, however, is disputed by several noted historians on the Pearl Harbor Attacked Message Board [1]. The photographic analysis is based solely on three splashes seen in a single aerial photo and purported to be from the midgets propeller. Only one submarine is known to have penetrated the harbor, and it fired torpedoes at the USS Curtiss and USS Monaghan. Pearl Harbor On 7 December 1941, Monaghan was a ready duty destroyer in Pearl Harbor, and at 0751 was ordered to join, who had just sunk Another submarine fired torpedoes at the USS St. Louis as she exited the harbor. Construction and commissioning St Louis was laid down on 10 December 1936 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company Newport News The remaining three submarines—the one captured, one found in 1960 and one found in 2003—had their torpedoes onboard when found. These submarines together account for the torpedoes of all five submarines, and thus rule out the photographic interpretation.

Japanese midget submarine attacks on Sydney

The two midget submarines sunk in Sydney Harbour were used to construct a composite midget submarine which toured Australia during the war.

Main article: Attack on Sydney Harbour

On the night of 29 May 1942, five large Japanese submarines positioned themselves 56 kilometres north-east of Sydney Heads. In late May and early June 1942 during World War II, Submarines belonging to the Imperial Japanese Navy made a series of attacks on the cities of Sydney Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. At 3. 00am the next day one of the submarines launched a reconnaissance aircraft. After circling Sydney Harbour the aircraft returned to its submarine, reporting the presence of 'battleships and cruisers' moored in the harbour. The flotilla's commanding officer decided to attack the harbour with midget submarines the next night. The next day the five submarines approached to within 11 kilometres of Sydney Heads, and at about 4. 30pm they released three midget submarines which then began their approach to Sydney Harbour.

The outer-harbour defences detected the entry of the first midget submarine at about 8. 00pm, but it was not identified until it became entangled in an anti-torpedo net that was suspended between George's Head and Green Point. Before HMAS Yarroma was able to open fire, the submarine's two crew members destroyed their vessel with demolition charges and killed themselves.

The second submarine entered the harbour at about 9. 48pm and headed west towards the Harbour Bridge, causing a general alarm to be issued by the Naval Officer in Charge, Sydney. About 200 metres from Garden Island the submarine was fired on by the heavy cruiser USS Chicago. Pre-war service After a Shakedown cruise to Honolulu, Tahiti, and American Samoa, Chicago departed Mare Island The submarine then fired its two torpedoes at the cruiser. One torpedo ran ashore on Garden Island but failed to explode. The other passed under the Dutch submarine K9 and struck the harbour bed beneath the depot ship HMAS Kuttabul where it exploded, killing 21 sailors (19 Royal Australian Navy and 2 Royal Navy). The submarine then slipped out of the harbour, its mission complete.

The third submarine was sighted by HMAS Yandra at the entrance to the harbour and was depth-charged. Some four hours later, having recovered, it entered the harbour but it was subsequently attacked with depth charges and sunk in Taylor Bay by vessels of the Royal Australian Navy. Both members of the submarine's crew committed suicide.

The two submarines that were recovered were identical, and their remains were used to reconstruct a complete submarine, which toured New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia before being delivered to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in 1943, where it remains on display. The Australian War Memorial is Australia 's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated

Nations

British

The Royal Navy also used a number of midget submarines. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service)

X class

The first group (known as the X class) were used to attack German warships in the North of Norway. Specification The craft were about 51 feet (155 m long 55 feet (1 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional One notable target of a successful attack was the battleship Tirpitz. A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were Operational history This battleship was launched on 1 April 1939 and she was planned to be deployed in a manner similar to the ''Bismarck'', as a Commerce raider The submarines had a crew of three (plus a diver) and carried two large mines containing Amatol – one on each side. A naval mine is a self-contained Explosive device placed in water to destroy Ships or Submarines Unlike Depth charges mines are deposited Amatol is a highly Explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and Ammonium nitrate. Their strategy was to lay mines on the sea bottom beneath the target, set a time fuse, and exit. In an Explosive, Pyrotechnic device or military Munition, a fuse (or fuze) is the part of the device that initiates function

XE class

The later XE class were used in the Far East, where they carried out a number of attacks and special missions. Operation Struggle In August 1945 HMS XE1 and XE3 executed a joint attack on Japanese cruisers within Singapore harbour The Far East is a term often used by people in the Western world to refer to the countries of East Asia.

Welman class

The British also developed the Welman class: a single person submarine widely considered a failure. Design Developed by SOE's Inter Services Research Bureau (ISRB as a method of delivering a large explosive charge below an enemy ship the Welman was a submersible craft length

German

German midget submarine Seehund, with a torpedo

The Germans developed various classes of midget submarines: the Molch, the Seehund, and the Biber. The Seehund (seal (also known as Type XXVII) was a successful series of German Midget submarines created during World War II The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below The Molch (salamander was an unsuccessful one-man series of German Midget submarines created during World War II. The Seehund (seal (also known as Type XXVII) was a successful series of German Midget submarines created during World War II During the Second World War, the Biber was a German Midget submarine, with two externally mounted 21-inch (53cm Torpedoes Its name is German for "

Japanese

• Ha-19 Type A Midget Submarine
• Japanese midget subs
• Japanese　midget subs in 1941-1945: Kouryu and Kairyu 甲標的 蛟龍 海龍 (Japanese)

Iran

Iran developed the Ghadir submarine. Submarines in the class

North Korea

North Korea developed the Yugo class submarine.

Gallery

Japanese midget submarine sunk off New Hanover island, Papua New Guinea	Diver and conning tower of the sub	Detail of the hatch and conning tower of the sub	Diver and the torpedo tubes of the submarine
A Kairyu submarine at the entrance of Moroiso inlet, 1945	German Molch Midget submarine. South African Military Museum, Johannesburg

See also

• Submersible
• Human torpedo
• Kaiten Submarine
• Błotniak
• Royal Navy Submarine Museum
• Wet sub