General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: Italian midget
Posted by:
Rich Mickle
()
Date: April 22, 2001 06:49PM
<HTML>Hello Gerson,
In response to your question, the Italians actually had a great deal of success with
their \"maiale\" or \"pig\" midget subs. They were manned by two men and could travel on their own power into ports after being let off by submarine. The maiale had a range of 4 to 15 miles, depending on the speed traveled. It was over 7 meters long, the forward 1.8 meters was the actual explosive charge (300 kg). The No. 1 man was the driver who steered by means of a joystick and controlled the forward trimming tank. The No. 2 man controlled the aft trimming tank and quick dive tank. He also had a locker which contained rope and net cutters.
The procedure for delivering the charge was relatively simple. The maiale would be positioned directly under the target. No. 2 man would dismount and secure a clamp to the keel of the target. Another clamp would be attached to the other side of the hull. Both clamp ropes would then be attached to the warhead and the fuse would be set--normally a 2.5 hour delay to allow the men and maiale to escape. The driver would then release the warhead which would then hang under the target\'s hull from the bilge keels.
The Italians initially hoped to deliver these by air, but abandoned it in favor of submarine transports. This was done on the surface but the Italians developed a method of doing it submerged too.
The Italians employed these \"pigs\" against the British in both Alexandria and Gibraltar. Perhaps their most well known success is that against the British battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant along with the tanker Sagona. All three were successfully attacked and settled on the bottom of Alexandria and took some time to repair. This attack took place in December 1941.
Their most interesting effort was the use of the interned merchant ship Olterra in Algeciras Bay near Gibraltar. Below the water line a hatch was cut and the Italians would set off on their Maiale from there to attack shipping and warships at Gibraltar. Gamma swimmers would also swim from there to attach limpet mines to Allied vessels. A number of successes were achieved from the Olterra base of operations---mainly against merchant vessels. The British patrols took to dropping random depth charges in the hopes of shocking the men to the surface for capture. The British did not know of the Olterra until after the Italian surrender in September of 1943 when the Olterra came into their hands. They had always assumed the maiale had been released by submarines, and captured maiale frogmen always confirmed this during questioning. These feats were accomplished by the Italian navy\'s \"Decima Mas\"--the elite commando/frogmen unit of the navy.
Hope this helps answer your question. If you would like to read up on this stuff, Paul Kemp has a couple of books \"Underwater Warriors\" and \"Midget Submarines of the Second World War\" in which he covers the Italian weapons and operations in some detail---along with similar efforts by the Germans, Japanese, and British.
Regards,
Rich Mickle</HTML>
In response to your question, the Italians actually had a great deal of success with
their \"maiale\" or \"pig\" midget subs. They were manned by two men and could travel on their own power into ports after being let off by submarine. The maiale had a range of 4 to 15 miles, depending on the speed traveled. It was over 7 meters long, the forward 1.8 meters was the actual explosive charge (300 kg). The No. 1 man was the driver who steered by means of a joystick and controlled the forward trimming tank. The No. 2 man controlled the aft trimming tank and quick dive tank. He also had a locker which contained rope and net cutters.
The procedure for delivering the charge was relatively simple. The maiale would be positioned directly under the target. No. 2 man would dismount and secure a clamp to the keel of the target. Another clamp would be attached to the other side of the hull. Both clamp ropes would then be attached to the warhead and the fuse would be set--normally a 2.5 hour delay to allow the men and maiale to escape. The driver would then release the warhead which would then hang under the target\'s hull from the bilge keels.
The Italians initially hoped to deliver these by air, but abandoned it in favor of submarine transports. This was done on the surface but the Italians developed a method of doing it submerged too.
The Italians employed these \"pigs\" against the British in both Alexandria and Gibraltar. Perhaps their most well known success is that against the British battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant along with the tanker Sagona. All three were successfully attacked and settled on the bottom of Alexandria and took some time to repair. This attack took place in December 1941.
Their most interesting effort was the use of the interned merchant ship Olterra in Algeciras Bay near Gibraltar. Below the water line a hatch was cut and the Italians would set off on their Maiale from there to attack shipping and warships at Gibraltar. Gamma swimmers would also swim from there to attach limpet mines to Allied vessels. A number of successes were achieved from the Olterra base of operations---mainly against merchant vessels. The British patrols took to dropping random depth charges in the hopes of shocking the men to the surface for capture. The British did not know of the Olterra until after the Italian surrender in September of 1943 when the Olterra came into their hands. They had always assumed the maiale had been released by submarines, and captured maiale frogmen always confirmed this during questioning. These feats were accomplished by the Italian navy\'s \"Decima Mas\"--the elite commando/frogmen unit of the navy.
Hope this helps answer your question. If you would like to read up on this stuff, Paul Kemp has a couple of books \"Underwater Warriors\" and \"Midget Submarines of the Second World War\" in which he covers the Italian weapons and operations in some detail---along with similar efforts by the Germans, Japanese, and British.
Regards,
Rich Mickle</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Italian midget
|
Gerson Toller | 04/22/2001 03:48PM |
|
RE: Italian midget
|
Rich Mickle | 04/22/2001 06:49PM |
|
RE: Italian midget
|
Carlo S. | 04/22/2001 07:32PM |
|
RE: Italian midget
|
Ralph Langley | 04/22/2001 09:30PM |