Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

John Elliott Smart (1 March 1916 – 3 February 2008) was an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, who commanded one of the midget submarines that attacked the German cruiser ''Lützow'' and the Japanese cruiser ''Takao'' during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life

Smart was born on 1 March 1916 in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...

in England and joined the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

(RNVR) in 1938, his commission as a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

was confirmed on 3 October 1939. He served the first part of the war in

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s in the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

. He was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 1 March 1941, then joined

HMS Varbel HMS ''Varbel'' was a Royal Navy shore establishment during World War II, used as a base for Operation Source. It was in the luxury 88-bedroomed Kyles Hydro Hotel at Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute in the Firth of Clyde off the west coast of S ...

, the midget submarine training depot, in 1943.

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 The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) for his part in the operation.

Operation Struggle

The

XE class submarine The XE-class submarines were a series of twelve midget submarines that were built for the Royal Navy during 1944; four more to a slightly different design were built 1954-5 as the ''Stickleback'' class. They were an improved version of the ...

s HMS ''XE1'' and ''XE3'' 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 The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typi ...

(DSO), and as an Officer of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

from the United States.

Later life

Smart retained his RNVR commission after the war and was promoted

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

on 1 March 1949. He was awarded the

Volunteer Reserve Decoration The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, post-nominal letters VD until c. 1947 and VRD thereafter, was instituted in 1908. It could be awarded to part-time commissioned officers in the United Kingdom's Royal Naval Volunt ...

(VRD) on 30 April 1953, and retired on 8 March 1954. He then became a

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks ...

with Pemberton Securities in their

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

office, remaining there until the 1980s, when he transferred to the

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. T ...

office. He died in Victoria on 3 February 2008 at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife, Meghan, and two sons, Elliot and Christopher.

References

External links

Telegraph obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smart, John Elliott 1916 births 2008 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Legion of Merit Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II Stockbrokers