The Real X-Men: The Heroic Story of the Underwater War 19421945

(Paperback)

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The thrilling and true story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the extraordinary men who crewed these dangerous vessels. The commando frogmen who rode the Chariots and operated as divers from the X-craft were the forerunners of today's Special Boat Service, the SBS.

Their aim was to attach an explosive charge underneath an enemy ship to destroy the vessel. Their hope was to return to their submarine unscathed. The Real X-Men tells the story of the sacrifice and heroism of the individual men, many of them little more than teenagers, who volunteered for this dangerous duty and who crewed both the Chariots and the X-craft without knowing the full extent of the risks entailed, nor indeed the very small chances they had of coming back alive.

Reviews

Unbearably tense . . . will make you feel proud to be British. - Daily Express

Heroism, adventure, tragedy, a superman hero and the loathsome Boche. This comprehensive retelling of the story has not lost any of its firepower. - Daily Mail

Author Bio

Robert Lyman is a respected military history specialist and his previous books include The Longest Siege: Tobruk; Slim, Master of War; Operation Suicide and Into the Jaws of Death. He lives in Berkshire, England.