John Elliott Smart
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| John Elliot Smart | |
|---|---|
| 1 March 1916–3 February 2008 (aged 91) | |
| Nickname | Jack |
| Place of birth | Northumberland, United Kingdom |
| Place of death | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (aged 91) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1938–1954 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Commands held | HMS X8 (1943) HMS XE1 (1945) |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order (DSO) Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) United States Officer of the Legion of Merit |
Lieutenant Commander John "Jack" Smart DSO OBE (1 March 1916–3 February 2008) was an officer in the Royal Navy commanding one of the midget submarines that attacked the German cruiser Lützow and the Japanese cruiser Takao.
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[edit] Early life
Smart was born on 1 March 1916 in Northumberland in England and joined the RNVR in 1938. He served the first part of the war in minesweepers in the eastern Mediterranean, then joined HMS Varbel, the midget submarine training depot, in 1943.
[edit] Operation Source
Six midget submarines were to take part in the attack on the German cruiser Lützow in Altenfjord, Norway. During the tow over to the attack, X8 lost contact with her towing submarine HMS Sea Nymph, but after 37 hours they regained contact. Unfortunately X8 developed leaks and was unable to dive, eventually leading to the X8 being scuttled. Smart was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his part in the operation.
[edit] Operation Struggle
The XE class submarines HMS XE1 and XE1 was assigned to Operation Struggle, an attack on the Japanese cruisers Myōkō and Takao in the Johore Strait. Smart was in command of XE1, targeting the Myōkō but after 16 hours ran out of time and laid the charges next to Takao, that had already been attacked by XE3. The attack on Takao lead to appointment as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order and as an Officer of the Legion of Merit from the United States.
Smart died in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on 3 February 2008 at the age of 91.
