Category: X-Craft and Frogmen

PUGH, Marshall. Commander Crabb. ix, 165p., illus. London: Macmillan; New York: Scribner, 1956.

Crabb gained notoriety when he disappeared in Portsmouth Harbour in 1956 in mysterious circumstances. This biography also describes his wartime exploits fighting the Italian 10th Light Flotilla from Gibraltar then clearance diving in northern Italy. US title: Frogman.

HALL, Keith. X3 to X54: The History of the British Midget Submarine. 192p., bibliog., illus., index. Cheltenham: History Press, 2023. ISBN: 9781803991993.

Although they did not enter active service until 1942, it was very active service and crewmen were awarded an astonishing 167 honours between them, including four Victoria Crosses. Written by a former submariner the book explores the entire life and development of the British midget submarine.

KONSTAM, Angus. Tirpitz in Norway: X-craft Midget Submarines Raid the Fjords, Operation Source 1943 (Raid 51). 80p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2019. ISBN: 9781472835857.

 A routine retelling of this heroic raid.

BEAN, Charles. The Life & Love of a Seafaring Man. [4], 136p., illus. Hobart, Tasmania: [author], c.2004.

         A very anecdotal autobiography and set of poems. He served on Honeysuckle in the Atlantic and Arctic and later as a frogman in the Indian Ocean and Pacific. Full of tall tales and exciting action.

WALDRON,T. J., & GLEESON, James. The Frogmen: The Story of the Wartime Underwater Operators. 191p., illus. London: Evans, 1950.

The first account of the wartime role of frogmen, chariots, X-Craft and P-Parties. Reprinted by the Elmfield Press in 1975, ISBN:  0705700461. Republished in 2014 by Fonthill as Naval Frogmen: Wartime Underwater Operators, ISBN: 9781781551721.

FELTON, Mark. The Sea Devils: Operation Struggle and the Last Great Raid of World War Two. xviii, 334p., illus. London: Icon Books, 2015. ISBN: 9781785780493.

In August 1945, the midget submarines XE1 and XE3 executed a joint attack on Japanese warships within Singapore harbour. The heavy cruiser Takao was damaged beyond repair. Two VCs were amongst the many gallantry awards made.

WELHAM, M. G. & WELHAM, J. A. Frogman Spy: The Mysterious Disappearance of Commander ‘Buster’ Crabb. [x], 179p., bibliog., illus., index. London: W. H. Allen, 1990. ISBN: 1852271388.

Although principally concerned with his mysterious death, there is some coverage of his wartime career.

LYMAN, Robert. The Real X-Men: The Heroic Story of the Underwater War 1942-1945. xv, 314p., illus., index. London: Quercus, 2015. ISBN: 1784299936.

The story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the men who crewed them.

KNOWLES, Sydney. A Diver in the Dark: Experiences of a Pioneer Royal Navy Clearance Diver and former diving partner to Commander Lionel 'Buster' Crabb. xiv, 160p., bibliog., illus., index. Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2009. ISBN: 1846830826.

He served in the North Atlantic aboard Zulu during the hunt for the Bismarck and on Lookout on Atlantic convoy duty and Operation Pedestal before volunteering to join a small squad of Navy divers known as the Underwater Working Party, based at Gibraltar.

A frank autobiography. He volunteered under the Y Scheme in January 1942. He did his CW sea time on Cleveland and by Christmas was a Temporary Acting Midshipman. He volunteered for hazardous duty and trained as a charioteer. His frustrating but dangerous war was full of training and one major and successful operation in the Far East.

A biography of Lieutenant Godfrey Place who commanded X-7 and was captured in the attack on Tirpitz. He was awarded the VC. He served until 1970.

A popular account of a small part of the Royal Navy, which operated with great bravery in almost every theatre of operations. US title: The Midget Raiders.

Henty-Creer's autobiography is accompanied by an examination by his sister and a naval author who set out to prove that X 5 did in fact deliver a successful attack on the Tirpitz.

Written by an amateur historian whose father was involved in building X-Craft, this is a collection of personal reminiscences strung together with linking accounts of training and action.

A compelling story largely told through personal reminiscences.

First published in Norway in 2003, this usefully explores German, British and Norwegian sources to argue that Henty-Creer probably did make an attack in X5. Also describes attempts to find the wreck of the X Craft.

An exhaustive assembly of information on the development and operation of human chariots.

Describes Operation SOURCE, the X-Craft raid against the Tirpitz in Kaafjord in 1943. US title: The X-Craft Raid.