Recently i posted on my blog some stuff on the WW2 XT class submarine wrecks in Aberlady Bay, East Lothian, some local info and a film i made from film on youtube and pictures online and from regular visits out in the bay; http://nothroughroad-coastkid.blogspot.com/2011/03/ww2-xt-class-submarine-wrecks-aberlady.html




Researching the Submarines i read that there is film of the explosive shell testing... so wondered if anyone knew where the film is and if it is public domain and accessible to view?, i imagine the Royal Navy took the film so wonder if it does excist then where it may be?

Nice collection, and will find its way into our Wiki page

Do you have any more details of the testing you referred to?

The testing at Aberlady was merely aircraft gunnery practice, where two unfortunate X-Craft were scuttled for the purpose.

That doesn't sound like the sort of thing that was unique enough to have been worth the effort of filming, especially as it was done after the war, in 1946, unless it perhaps involved the testing of some special ordnance?

I certainly didn't come across anything like that mentioned at the time of putting the page together (it was hard enough picking up re-usable pics back then), but that was a few years ago, and new gems are always being added.

Just a quick note...

The link given for the blog entry itself on the YouTube posting is incorrect, and needs fixing.

fixed the link, read about film of fire testing on one of those `visit Aberlady` sites when googling through more info, perhaps is an urban myth as no mention on any official military/navy sites, there is a documented Navy report somewhere online, that is where the picture came from of the numbered bullet holes,
great wee bit of history out there!  

Could be, as they would have secured the beach and kept the locals away - since they probably didn't want to kill any of them - so they could have been doing anything.

I didn't mean to imply (above) they didn't film, they certainly could have in order to analyse the training of the pilots/gunners, or even to evaluate the effectiveness of the ordnance used against the gauge of metal the X-Craft were made of.

The difficulty in finding this film - if we assume it exists - is that it will not be associated with record relating to the X-Craft, since they were merely a couple of derelict, obsolete hulls in this particular case.

The record would therefore be more likely to be associated with whatever department was carrying out the testing/training, or of the flying unit concerned.

The hunt continues?

BBC2's Coast has something on the X-craft in Aberlady Bay on Sunday, Nick Hewitt reporting.

MB

I was fortunate last eveniing to turn on the TV just in time to catch the Aberlady section of the Coast programme.      Excellent photography and the survivor of the accident in Loch Striven and the deepest ever unassisted escape from a submarine was interesting too.  

Quoted from The Fox

I was fortunate last eveniing to turn on the TV just in time to catch the Aberlady section of the Coast programme.      Excellent photography and the survivor of the accident in Loch Striven and the deepest ever unassisted escape from a submarine was interesting too.  

I believe it was filmed a couple of years ago and unfortunately I think the survivor has passed away since then.

The CGI was "borrowed" from Timewatch.

That is the end of this series but they are filming for the next series at the moment.

MB

Dan Snow was filming in a X-craft today with someone who spent two days in one off the D-Day beaches, don't know what for though.

MB

I have hesrd of the X-craft at D Day,  I think they were used to land divers on the beach under the noses of the Germans to collect beach material for examination.    The planners wanted to be sure the beaches would take the weight of the invasion vehicles.     This of course was prior to the invasion, whether they had a role during the invasion I do not recall.

Quoted from The Fox

I have hesrd of the X-craft at D Day,  I think they were used to land divers on the beach under the noses of the Germans to collect beach material for examination.    The planners wanted to be sure the beaches would take the weight of the invasion vehicles.     This of course was prior to the invasion, whether they had a role during the invasion I do not recall.

Not sure whether they used X-craft for that but I think they did have some off the beaches as markers to help the incoming landing craft find the beaches.  Isn't there a story told of some of the landing craft being surprised to see a RN officer apparently standing on the water - was on the hull of the submarine.

There was a story about the people in the Combined Ops Pilotage Parties checking the beaches recently, it says boats with silenced engines.  
D-Day's 'forgotten' sand samplers

I think they were actually canoes, perhaps the "Sleeping Beauty"?  

See The Cockleshell Canoes

PS There is now a restored dummy LCA near Achnacarry.`

If I had come across the dummy LCA i would not have had a clue what it was.

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If I had come across the dummy LCA i would not have had a clue what it was.

I saw some buildings around that area on the post war aerials so had a look on the ground.  I found three what I thought were bases of buildings.  I thought they might be latrines from the internal walls, three made me wonder about OR, NCO, officers!  I must find my notebook with the NGR because I wonder if one was this but I could have overlooked it with everything being overgrown.  

There are other concrete landing craft around.

MB

Midget subs were used to gather beach samples and as markers on D-Day for the invasion craft.