1942 1943 1944 1945 Associated articles Operation Source was a series of attacks to neutralise the heavy German warships – Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, and Lützow – based in northern Norway, using X-class midget submarines.

The concept for the attack was developed by Commander Cromwell-Varley, with support of Max Horton, Flag Officer Submarines, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

[3] The operation was directed from Royal Navy shore establishment HMS Varbel, located in Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute.

The submersibles were towed to the area by conventional submarines (HMS Truculent (X6)[5] Syrtis (X9),[5] Sea Nymph (X8),[6] Thrasher (X5),[7] Stubborn (X7),[6] and Sceptre (X10)[6]) and manned by passage crews on the way.

[6][Note 1]X8 (passage crew commanded by Lieutenant Jack Smart) developed serious leaks in her side-mounted demolition charges, which had to be jettisoned; these exploded, leaving her so damaged she had to be scuttled.

[13][14] An expedition jointly run by the late Carl Spencer (Britannic 2003), Bill Smith (Bluebird Project) and the Royal Navy using the mine hunters HMS Quorn and HMS Blyth in 2006 mapped the north and south anchorages used by Tirpitz and proved the charge was well inside the net enclosure of the north anchorage and therefore most likely from X6.

[19][citation needed] The ship's two Arado Ar 196 floatplanes were thrown by the explosive concussion and completely destroyed.

[21][citation needed] Just after repairs concluded, Tirpitz was damaged by British carrier-launched dive bombers in Operation Tungsten on 3 April 1944.

[14] For this action, the commanders of the craft, Lieutenants Donald Cameron (X6) and Basil Place (X7), were awarded the Victoria Cross, whilst Robert Aitken, Richard Haddon Kendall, and John Thornton Lorimer received the Distinguished Service Order and Edmund Goddard the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.