Sleeping Beauty Submersible
1943, SOE
Sleeping Beauty submersible, UK (SOE), 1943.
Meet the Motorized Submersible Canoe from Britain’s Special Operations Executive. Nicknamed “Sleeping Beauty,” this sleek WWII craft glides silently on the surface, then dives. Underwater, the pilot, wearing an oxygen mask, operates unseen by enemy ships. America’s OSS bought this one from the British and painted it in North Atlantic camouflage colors. The craft’s design evolved into the vehicles used today by US Navy SEALs.
**Pictured Sleeping Beauty in action (Wikipedia)
