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(Untitled), 22 Jul 1943

 Item
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CHAR 20/96B/168-173

Scope and Contents

Letter from Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes (22 St Leonard's Terrace, Chelsea, S W 3, London) [Conservative MP for Portsmouth] to WSC marked "Most Secret and Personal" regarding the career of Commander C Varley who has invented a small submarine called a "Sea Tank" which would enable a diver to attach an explosive charge to the bottom of a ship by the means of an arm operated from inside the submarine. He explains that Varley is not held in high regard by the Admiralty, and that the Admiralty does not like this form of attack preferring to place a charge on the bottom of the sea (which Keyes does not think would be effective); that the diving suits now used have caused one life to be lost, (which Keyes claims would not have happened with Varley suits); that the Admiralty have rejected Varley's "Sea Tank" despite enthusiastic reports of it, in favour of an inferior invention by Vickers. Keyes urges him to recommend this design to the United States so that a sufficient number could be used in the Far East. Signed.

Dates

  • Creation: 22 Jul 1943

Conditions Governing Access

From the File:

Open

Language of Materials

English

Repository Details

Part of the Churchill Archives Centre Repository

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