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Tirpitz
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Tirpitz

German battleship attacked by X-craft midget submarines in 1943

British X-craft midget submarines laid charges under Tirpitz at Kåfjord on 22 September 1943, the precedent for a Shanghai hull that Naval News judged on 15 September 2026 to be a mothership for large uncrewed submarines.

Last refreshed: 7 October 2026

Timeline for Tirpitz

#13 15 Sept

Mentioned in: China may build a drone-sub mothership

Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea
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Background

Tirpitz, the German battleship that British midget submarines crippled in 1943, is the classic target of a raid by small craft carried to range. A hull in Shanghai that Naval News judges to be a mothership for extra-large uncrewed submarines applies the same idea.

Tirpitz was a German battleship, sister to Bismarck, launched at Wilhelmshaven on 1 April 1939. From 1942 she was based in Norwegian fjords. On 22 September 1943 the British midget submarines X6 and X7 laid charges beneath her at Kåfjord, immobilising her for several months. On 12 November 1944 RAF Lancasters of 9 and 617 Squadrons sank her with Tallboy bombs off Håkøya, near Tromsø. More than 900 of her CREW died.

The X-craft attack showed that a small underwater craft could disable a capital ship if a larger vessel carried it within range. Large uncrewed submarines, such as the extra-large vehicle Kongsberg is designing for the US Defense Innovation Unit, take the same idea without a CREW aboard.

Common Questions
What did the X-craft do to the Tirpitz?
On 22 September 1943 the midget submarines X6 and X7 laid charges under Tirpitz at Kåfjord, Norway. The attack immobilised her for several months.Source: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30006646
When was the Tirpitz sunk?
RAF Lancasters of 9 and 617 Squadrons sank Tirpitz with Tallboy bombs near Tromsø on 12 November 1944.Source: https://maritimequest.com/daily_event_archive/2005/nov/12_tirpitz.htm
Why was the Tirpitz kept in Norway?
From 1942 Germany based Tirpitz in Norwegian fjords, where she posed a standing threat to Allied shipping in northern waters.Source: https://maritimequest.com/daily_event_archive/2005/nov/12_tirpitz.htm
Why is the Tirpitz raid compared with drone submarine motherships?
The X-craft reached Tirpitz because larger submarines towed them most of the way. A mothership for uncrewed submarines does the same job, carrying the craft inside its hull.Source:
Source Material
Victoria Cross, Lieutenant B C G PlaceTirpitz, 12 November 1944