CROWDS were drawn to the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine for a unique unveiling of a fully restored X-Craft periscope.
It is believed to be the only surviving periscope belonging to HMS Stickleback, a mini submersible, from 1954.
The event on on Thursday, May 8 saw Commodore Submarine Service, Commodore Paul Dunn OBE, unveil the periscope for the museum and give a short speech.
During his speech, Commodore Dunn said: “It is an honour to be here today to unveil this X-Craft artifact.
"I would like to express my sincerest thanks to Mr Stuart Rich, Chief Dave O’Neill, Mr Andy Knox, the team at Thales Glasgow, and especially the apprentices whose hands brought this piece of history back to life.
“The periscope stands as a powerful reminder of the bravery and innovation of those who served in midget submarine warfare.
"And now, thanks to the work of everyone involved, future generations who visit this museum will be able to appreciate the story and significance of these remarkable machines.”
In 2024, the museum ‘rediscovered’ the periscope in its maritime heritage collection.
After reaching out to Thales and the Navy, both were keen to help restore and preserve the historical piece pf equipment.
In attendance were representatives from the Royal Navy, Thales, and Members of the Scottish Parliament.
HMS Stickleback was launched on October 1, 1954, and was the first mini submersible of the Stickleback class.
They were originally ordered as improvised versions of the XE Class submarines.
These crafts were built to allow British defences to train against the Cold War threat of Soviet mini submersibles.
There were even talks to equip the Stickleback class with 15 kiloton nuclear naval mines, but the project came to nothing.
It was sold to the Royal Swedish Navy in 1958, and renamed HMS Spiggen, the Swedish name for Stickleback.
After its decommissioning, the craft was displayed at the Imperial War Museum Duxford and then stored in Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
In 2018 it moved to its new home in the Scottish Submarine Centre in Helensburgh.
Matthew Bellhouse Moran, executive director of the Scottish Maritime Museum, said: “We are honoured to welcome Commodore Dunn to the Museum to unveil the X-Craft periscope.
“This rare find, which was gifted to the Museum by the Glasgow optical engineering firm Barr and Stroud in 1993, comes from HMS Stickleback, the only surviving X-Craft in the world.
“Having the recently restored periscope on display for the first time will enable us to explore the fascinating role of the Cold War X Craft, which were built for espionage and mine deployment, with our visitors.”
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