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X51 Stickleback at Imperial War Museum Duxford
History
United Kingdom
Name	Stickleback class
General characteristics
Type	Midget submarine
Displacement	35.2 tons surfaced 39.27 tons submerged
Length	50 ft 8 in (15.44 m) (pp) 53 ft 10 in (16.41 m) (oa)
Beam	6 ft (1.8 m)
Draught	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Propulsion	1 shaft diesel electric, 1 Perkins P6 6 cyl diesel, 1 electric motor, 50 bhp/44 shp
Speed	6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph) surfaced 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) submerged
Complement	5
Armament	2 detachable 2-ton side charges

The Stickleback-class submarines were midget submarines of the British Royal Navy initially ordered as improved versions of the older XE-class submarines. They were designed to allow British defences to practice defending against midget submarines since it was theorised that the Soviet Union had or could develop such craft.

The Royal Navy developed plans to use these craft to carry a 15-kiloton nuclear naval mine (based on the Red Beard weapon) codenamed Cudgel into Soviet harbours. The project was unsuccessful as there were problems finding and paying for the necessary fissile material.

Boats

There were four boats, launched 1954–1955:

• X51 Stickleback, launched 1 October 1954, sold to the Royal Swedish Navy in 1958 and was renamed Spiggen (Swedish name for "Stickleback"). After a period on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and then in storage at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, X51 was moved to the Scottish Submarine Centre in Helensburgh, where it has been on display since 2018.
• X52 Shrimp, launched October 1954, scrapped 1965
• X53 Sprat, launched 30 December 1954, loaned to US Navy 1958, scrapped 1966
• X54 Minnow, launched 5 May 1955, scrapped 1966

Citations

1. ^ Paloczi-Horvath, George (1996). From Monitor to Missile Boat Coast Defence Ships and Coastal Defence since 1860. Conway Maritime Press. p. 120. ISBN 0-85177-650-7.
2. ^ Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 527
3. ((http://www.scottishsubmarine.com))
4. "X-51 is here! Helensburgh museum's submarine arrives in Scotland". Helensburgh Advertiser. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.

References

• Preston, Antony (2001). The Royal Navy submarine service : a centennial history. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 978-0851778914.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557501327.

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