Bravery beneath the waves... the midget sub that sank a 10,000-ton Japanese cruiser

On the 80th anniversary of James Magennis’ incredible courage, Lord Ashcroft reflects on the very first Victoria Cross he purchased nearly 40 years ago... and how it helped inspire the world’s biggest collection of VC medals

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11pm on July 30. Ahead was a perilous 40-mile journey through wrecks, minefields, listening posts and surface patrols.

CONDITIONS in the midget submarine were cramped, stuffy and uncomfortable. For 13 and a half hours, their journey went without any hitches so that by 12.30pm on July 31 their target was in sight. At 3.03pm, Fraser slid the midget submarine almost under Takao, with the enemy ship anchored in shallow waters less than 100 yards from shore.

Magennis, by this point aged 25, emerged from the “wet and dry compartment” of the submarine which could either be flooded or pumped dry to let a diver exit or reenter the submarine. Soon he had begun his task of attaching limpet mines to the enemy ship.

However, he had to chip away at barnacles in order to attach the magnetic explosives.

Eventually, despite a leak in his oxygen line, Magennis attached six limpet mines to the hull before returning, exhausted and with shredded hands, to the sub.

However, on a falling tide, the craft became wedged beneath Takao. For more than an hour, Fraser tried to break free but to no avail. It looked as if the mini-submarine and her crew would be blown to pieces by her own explosives as there were only six hours before the charges went off.

Suddenly, however, the midget submarine shot backwards. It was no longer trapped but a new problem had arisen. When they tried to release the heavy limpet mine carrier from the sub’s exterior, it would not break free and they could not drag it along on their 40-mile journey to safety.

Knowing Magennis was injured, Fraser volunteered to dive to free it but Magennis insisted that he was the more experienced diver. “I'll be all right as soon as I’ve got my wind, sir,” he told Fraser.