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Motorised Submersible Canoe

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Sleeping Beauty
Class overview
NameMotorised Submersible Canoe
Operators United Kingdom Special Operations Executive
Succeeded bySwimmer Delivery Vehicle
General characteristics
TypeWet sub
Displacement600 pounds (270 kg)
Length12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)
Beam2 ft 3 in (0.69 m)
PropulsionOne 24v electric motor (5 hp), powered by four 6v batteries
Speed4.4 knots (8.1 km/h) maximum, 3.5 knots (6.5 km/h) cruise
Range40 nautical miles (74 km)
Test depth50 ft (15 m)
Crew1
ArmamentNine limpet mines, 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) of explosives

The Motorised Submersible Canoe (MSC), nicknamed Sleeping Beauty, was built by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II as an underwater vehicle for a single frogman to perform clandestine reconnaissance, such as the SAS, or attacks against enemy vessel.

Design

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The MSC was designed by Major Hugh Reeves, R.E., who was also given the task of designing an 'unspecified device' for an underwater approach.[1] [page needed] based on an idea from Lt Col "Blondie" Hasler[2] which he called the 'underwater glider' and developed at Aston House to Hasler's specifications.[3] The craft received its nickname "Sleeping Beauty" when Reeves was discovered sleeping in it by a passing officer.

Cutaway image of Sleeping Beauty (Popular Science – March 1947)

Developed from mild steel, the canoe is 12 feet 8 inches (3.86 m) long with a beam of 27 inches (0.69 m), used a 5 hp electric motor powered by four 6-volt batteries, had a top speed of 4.4 knots (8.1 km/h), and would travel 30 to 40 nautical miles (56 to 74 km) at a cruising speed of 3.1 knots (5.7 km/h). Its maximum operating depth was 50 feet (15 m).[1]

The Sleeping Beauty was designed to carry up to 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) of explosives as well as being able to be dropped near its target by a heavy bomber. Fore and central trimming tanks within the hull can be flooded to sink the craft underwater or have compressed air blown in them to surface the craft. The pilot controlled the craft by a joystick that is connected to the rudder and diving planes, breathed through a Siebe Gorman Salvus MkII Amphibian rebreather or Dunlop Underwater Swimming Breathing Apparatus (UWSBA), and would have to come close to the surface to establish his whereabouts. The canoe can also be paddled or moved by raising the mast and setting a sail. Although the Sleeping Beauty was designed to accommodate only one pilot, a later model did attempt to produce a two-man version post war.[1] [page needed] Different configurations were tried on the MSC such as the positioning of the hydroplanes; these were positioned aft, but sometimes moved forward during experimental work. The High Pressure air tanks (H.P.) could afford four blows to the surface from 40 ft and up to 20 blows to the surface from 15 ft.[1] [page needed][clarification needed]

During the late 1943 the MSC was referred to the "Assault Warfare Sub Committee" (AWSC), and had trials conducted at Queen Mary Reservoir. There the MSC was compared with the Chariot manned torpedo and Welman submarine. The MSC was found to be small (up to 15 canoes could be carried in a larger submarine's torpedo storage compartment), light, easier to navigate, simple to operate, and quick to build. However, the craft was notoriously difficult to operate.

Operation

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The MSC's usual method of operations was "porpoising" in rapid rises to the surface to view bearings, then shallow diving. This manoeuvre required the pilot to put the bow of the Sleeping Beauty to the water's surface and watch the reflection of it underneath the surface, and just when the bow was about to meet with its reflected image the Sleeping Beauty would be put into a dive so that the pilot's head would come out of the water and he was able to see his direction.

The pilot would vacate the Sleeping Beauty to swim and place limpet mines upon enemy vessels, rather than piloting the MSC towards the target directly.

Operational service

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MSCs were also utilised for Operation Rimau, a raid on Japanese shipping in Singapore during September 1944 orchestrated by commandos from the joint Australian, British and New Zealand Z Special Unit, sometimes known as "Z Force". After being found by a patrol boat, the canoes had to be scuttled along with the junk in which they were carried. Ten of the attacking force were taken prisoner by the Japanese and subsequently beheaded.

A pair of MSCs are believed to have been captured by German forces after an unsuccessful attack on enemy shipping in Måløy by members of the Norwegian Independent Company 1.[when?] The divers were landed with their canoes on the nearby island of Gangsøy. However, a local shepherd girl saw them and, thinking that they were thieving Germans, she reported them to the authorities. The divers were then pursued across Norway by the Germans until they were picked up safely and taken back to their base in the Shetland Islands.

During the summer of 1944, "Sleeping Beauty Number 72" was delivered to the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor to the CIA, and became the early prototype for today's Swimmer Delivery Vehicle. It was used from December 1944 until August 1945 to evaluate United States harbour defences, stage attack drills against capital ships and develop underwater communications equipment.

UCWE Trials Report on Sleeping Beauty

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In November 1954, the Clearance Diving Trials Team attached to the Admiralty's Underwater Countermeasures and Weapons Establishment (UCWE) at Leigh Park House near Havant in Hampshire issued a report regarding the Sleeping Beauty, signed off by the Officer-in-Charge of the team, Lt Cdr Gordon Gutteridge RN:

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d Rees, 2008
  2. ^ Southby-Tailyour, 1998, p74
  3. ^ Southby-Tailyour, 1998, p126

Bibliography

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  • Ross, Anderson (2010), Report on background and maritime archaeological survey for a Motorised Submersible Canoe (MSC) or 'Sleeping Beauty' lost 1945, HMAS Stirling, Careening Bay, Cockburn Sound, Western Australian Museum
  • "Britain reveals diving canoe", Popular Science, vol. 150, no. 3, March 1947, ISSN 0161-7370
  • Rees, Quentin (2008). Cockleshell Canoes: British Military Canoes of World War Two. Most Secret. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84868-065-4..
  • Southby-Tailyour, Ewen (1998), Blondie, Leo Cooper, ISBN 9780850525168
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