Book Review – Operation Title – Sink the Tirpitz

Operation Title – Sink the Tirpitz
by Glyn L Evans
Pen & Sword 2024

This is a readable and at times moving account of Operation Title, the attempt to disable the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway using human torpedoes or “Chariots”. Operating these manned torpedoes required intensive training, skill and stamina. The Title mission did not succeed for reasons beyond the control of those attempting it, and the story has some of its sharpest focus on the difficult escape by the courageous Anglo-Norwegian team involved. In particular, the author focuses on the experience and the tragic death of one of them, Able Seaman Robert Paul Evans. Having been shot twice in the course of the escape attempt, AB Evans was eventually and tragically executed in captivity by the Germans as a result of Hitler’s infamous Commando Order.

The book’s author Glyn Evans became intrigued about the story of AB Evans when he spotted the surname he shares in Chalmers’ biography of Admiral Sir Max Horton. Modern writers about human torpedoes and midget submarines are all successors to 1953’s classic “Above Us The Waves” by CET Warren and James Benson. Glyn Evans makes clear he is not telling the Operation Title story for the first time, and acknowledges drawing on accounts of the Title mission in books such as Robert Lyman’s “The Real X-Men”. Readers should also be aware that only a limited part of the book relates to submarine content, given the Chariots were transported to Norway by motor fishing vessel, and the overland escape. The real merit of the book lies in the way it allows the reader almost to join with the author as he evaluates original sources to understand the experiences and fate of AB Evans, of whom just one photograph survives. The book will appeal to those with an interest In building a true picture from limited and sometimes sparse records. There are detailed notes at the back (listed alphabetically) which reference some important submarine figures. There is also a foreword by Friends RNSM member David Parry, which rightly highlights the benefit of seeking junior participants’ perspectives in submarine operations.

The author has had to make the most of relatively limited biographical information on AB Evans, although this book’s role in highlighting his bravery and that of others shot in contravention of the Geneva Convention is to be welcomed. This is one of many stories which emphasise the importance of the recent work to inaugurate a new bronze Roll of Honour at Kylesku for the men of the 12th Submarine Flotilla who died on missions such as Operation Title. That memorial’s organisers have meticulously listed against these names the Mentions in Despatches which in many cases represented the official recognition of extraordinary heroism by submariners who lost their lives on varied special missions. AB Robert Evans’ name and the hard-won MiD letters next to it take their rightful place on that valuable memorial.

Review by Francis Dickinson