A Brief History
On December 19, 1941, in one of the most daring raids of World War II Italian Navy divers snuck into Alexandria harbor and heavily damaged two British battleships.
Digging Deeper
The Italian divers rode three torpedoes modified to serve as mini-submarines past the harbor’s defenses when the gates were opened to allow British destroyers to enter the harbor. The mini-subs, called “pigs” by the Italians, had been ferried to the harbor by the Regia Marina submarine, Scerie. Each of these manned torpedoes had a two man crew, equipped with magnetic limpet mines to be placed on the hulls of British ships where timers would explode the mines hours after the divers were to have escaped.
Despite trouble with the torpedoes, both with propulsion and oxygen production, the divers managed to place mines on 2 British battleships, the HMS Valiant and the HMS Queen Elizabeth. Failing to find an aircraft carrier to mine, the Italian divers chose a tanker ship as the third target. All 6 exhausted divers were captured, but when questioned remained silent about their mission.
The British found out soon enough what the mission of the Italian divers had been when the limpet mines exploded, seriously damaging the 3 mined ships. Additionally, a destroyer tied up alongside the tanker was also damaged. It took months to repair the ships and get them back into service, and in the meanwhile the Italian Navy had taken over naval supremacy in the Mediterranean.
Anyone that has the lack of knowledge to question the bravery, persistence and skill of Italian fighting men during World War II need only to research this operation for the inspiring ingenuity and courage necessary to conduct such a raid.
World War II had many such nearly suicidal type raids in all theaters. Question for students (and subscribers): Which raids strike you as the most daring and most audacious? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
History Channel. 2016 History Channel This Day in History WWII Boxed Calendar: 365 Incredible Events, Fascinating Decisions, and Unforgettable Leaders. Sourcebooks, 2015.
