Submarine at Wakefield wharf

[NB Esk]

Apologies for the poor quality, it's a copy of a copy.  Image shows a ww2 mini submarine with members of the Royal family at the "launch".  It wasn't built in Wakefield, I believe Hull.  The building on the left still stands.  There are two wooden barges on the far side and they too are still there, albeit on the bottom with trees growing out of them.  When the river is down the stem post of at least one barge can still be seen.

I'm not a submarine geek but believe this was the type where the explosive payload was carried at each side and then jettisoned under moored shipping.  Hope this is of interest.

[Ray T]

X Craft?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-class_submarine

 

[NB Esk]

1 minute ago, Ray T said:

X Craft?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-class_submarine

 

Looks like it to me Ray.  The guy on the right of the boat, looks to have a bottle behind his back, presumably to do the deed with.  What the idea of bringing it to Wakefield was, don't know.

Just tried to take a pic of the stempost of the sunken barge, wasn't easy with a breeze blowing and iPad on zoom.

 

 

[howardang]

I know nothing about this craft and whether it was built in Hull or Wakefield. However, the Wikipedia entry details all the X craft and where built and one of them -  X20 - was built at Huddersfield, just up the road from Wakefield. This vessel weas involved in Operation Gambit which was part of the D Day landings. She was one of 2 X craft acting as navigational aids to facilitate navigation for the invasion fleet, marking the approaches to the beaches. It may be of interest to some that during the war there were quite a few landing craft built in Wakefield, especially in preparation for D Day - this link to the peoples war has a small description of the operation (about halfway down).

 

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/17/a2642717.shtml

 

Who knew that Wakefield and Huddersfield had such connections!

 

Howard

[NB Esk]

51 minutes ago, howardang said:

I know nothing about this craft and whether it was built in Hull or Wakefield. However, the Wikipedia entry details all the X craft and where built and one of them -  X20 - was built at Huddersfield, just up the road from Wakefield. This vessel weas involved in Operation Gambit which was part of the D Day landings. She was one of 2 X craft acting as navigational aids to facilitate navigation for the invasion fleet, marking the approaches to the beaches. It may be of interest to some that during the war there were quite a few landing craft built in Wakefield, especially in preparation for D Day - this link to the peoples war has a small description of the operation (about halfway down).

 

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/17/a2642717.shtml

 

Who knew that Wakefield and Huddersfield had such connections!

 

Howard

Howard, that's one of the few things I actually did know, lol.  I believe the engineers were "Broadbents" on Queen street south.  Being from Huddersfield that was the first ever job interview I was sent to.  Didn't get the job but can still remember seeing several photos, hung on the walls, a number of them showing the submarines.  Thanks for the link.

[D. W. Walker]

Didn't the WW2 midget submarines use Gardner 4LK engines? There's a tenuous connection to narrowboats!

[mrsmelly]

9 minutes ago, D. W. Walker said:

Didn't the WW2 midget submarines use Gardner 4LK engines? There's a tenuous connection to narrowboats!

Yes they used them as mud weights