11. A Dangerous Mission

Lieutenant Max Shean is another local hero who left Perth to serve on Corvettes in the Atlantic during WWII, before volunteering for service aboard midget submarines called X craft.

Carrying out training in England and operations against German occupied ports in Europe, Max Shean and the XE4 entered the Pacific war with Operation Sabre. Their daring task was to locate and cut two Japanese underwater telegraph cables to the Mekong Delta. Towing a grapnel hook along the sea floor to snag the cables they eventually managed to find and cut both cables, returning with a section of cable as proof of their success.

This achievement forced the Japanese to rely on radio communications. The Allies, having already broken the Japanese codes, were able to intercept and read the Japanese messages.