Britain’s XE-3 Midget Submarine Raid Under Japan’s Cruiser Takao, 1945

In July 1945, the British Royal Navy executed Operation Struggle, a daring covert mission deep inside the heavily guarded waters of Singapore’s Keppel Harbour. Commanded by Lieutenant Ian Fraser, the midget submarine HMS XE-3 slipped past Japanese minefields, hydrophone networks, and patrol vessels to locate the Imperial Japanese Navy heavy cruiser Takao. Navigating extreme shallows, the craft squeezed beneath the cruiser’s hull, leaving virtually no clearance between the submarine and the seabed. Once wedged underneath the target, diver Leading Seaman James Magennis crawled into the pitch-black water. He spent grueling minutes chipping away heavy barnacle encrustations by hand to secure limpet mines, then returned to free a jammed explosive side-cargo container with a sledgehammer. Both men were awarded the Victoria Cross for their extraordinary courage, successfully blowing a massive hole in the cruiser and neutralizing the warship for the remainder of the Second World War. #WW2 #RoyalNavy #MidgetSubmarine #History #MilitaryHistory #OperationStruggle #SubmarineRaid #ImperialJapaneseNavy #CruiserTakao #VictoriaCross #NavalWarfare #WarHistory