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One of the first 'X Craft', on trials around Scotland.
The fourth boat to penetrate Alta Fjord, which was to attack the Scharnhorst, X10,
commanded by Lt. Ken R. Hudspeth, RANVR, ran early into trouble. Her gyro compass becoming defective, her periscope
hoisting motor burning out, and other electrical defects developing, Lt. Hudspeth decided that it would be impossible
to carry out an attack in the conditions and he spent the daylight hours of 22nd September on the bottom, trying to
make good the defects.
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Lt. K.R. Hudspeth RANVR, C.O. of X10. He was later in action in X20 for the Normandy beach reconnaissance
and the D-Day landings. He was awarded a DSC and two bars. |
At 0815 that morning he heard the explosions under the Tirpitz and realised that the attack had been made.
That evening, as he still had been unable to overcome all the breakdowns, he decided that he would have to abandon
the attack completely and withdraw. There could be no point in going on now, as the whole secret was out and additional
precautions against attack would obviously be taken. Besides, although Lt. Hudspeth did not know it at the time, the
Scharnhorst was no longer in her defended anchorage. She had been out for gunnery practice during the night
of September 21st and, on receiving a signal from the Tirpitz to say that she had been torpedoed during the
morning of the 22nd, had not returned to Kå Fjord but had found a temporary anchorage in Langfjord.
That night X10, after jettisoning her two charges, made her way out of Alta Fjord. It was to be
five more days before she finally made contact with one of the towing submarines. This was the Stubborn,
and X10 was successfully taken in tow. But once again, as on the way out, there was difficulty with the
towing wire. With the weather blowing up for a gale, the passage crew was embarked on board Stubborn and
X10 scuttled. |
