Warfare in News
Posted on Thursday 19th September
This weekend, 22nd September, sees the 70th anniversary of Operation Source, the attack by midget submarines on the pride of the German fleet, the battleship Tirpitz, lying in her heavily fortified lair deep in a Norwegian fjord.
To mark the occasion, there will be a commemoration ceremony at Kylesku, Sutherland (the cairn is found on the north side of Kylesku Bridge) on Sunday, 22 September at 11.00am. This was where the midget submarines left from on 11 September 1943 as they set out on operation. Supported by the local communities and the Royal Navy, the short service will include readings from the book Midget Submarine Commander - The Life of Godfrey Place VC.
The author of Midget Submarine Commander, Paul Watkins, will be speaking about his book and the life of Godfrey Place VC at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum on the evening of Thursday, 19 September as part of the museum's series of fundraising talks. He will also be speaking at the Chatham Naval Officers Association on 4 October and Sherborne Literary Festival on 18 October.
Read more about Operation Source in Warfare articles.
To mark the occasion, there will be a commemoration ceremony at Kylesku, Sutherland (the cairn is found on the north side of Kylesku Bridge) on Sunday, 22 September at 11.00am. This was where the midget submarines left from on 11 September 1943 as they set out on operation. Supported by the local communities and the Royal Navy, the short service will include readings from the book Midget Submarine Commander - The Life of Godfrey Place VC.
The author of Midget Submarine Commander, Paul Watkins, will be speaking about his book and the life of Godfrey Place VC at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum on the evening of Thursday, 19 September as part of the museum's series of fundraising talks. He will also be speaking at the Chatham Naval Officers Association on 4 October and Sherborne Literary Festival on 18 October.
Read more about Operation Source in Warfare articles.
Further Reading
Midget Submarine Commander
(Hardback - 244 pages)by Paul Watkins
Of all the acts of gallantry in World War II few were as audacious as the attack by midget submarines on the pride of the German fleet, the battleship Tirpitz, lying in her heavily fortified lair deep in a Norwegian fjord. Lieutenant Godfrey Place was in command of submarine X7 in September 1943 and travelled over 1000 miles, negotiating minefields and anti-submarine nets to place four tons of high explosive accurately under the hull of… Read more...
Of further interest...

Operation Source - 70 Years On
Thu 19th SeptemberSeventy years on from Operation Source, Paul Watkins, author of Midget Submarine Commander - the Life of Godfrey Place VC, describes the events of September 1943. Read article...



Warspite at Jutland
Wed 3rd FebruaryWith its 15-inch guns, HMS Warspite caused a mixture of fear and professional fascination among the Kaiser’s officers. They would soon find out what it was like to be on the receiving end of Churchill’s and Admiral Fisher’s Queen Elizabeth Class monsters. Read article...