Evgeny Davydov. Sailors of fortune

Sailors of fortune
Riding a torpedo - forward to victory!

Evgeniy Davydov

Date of publication: September 21, 2001

On October 29 , 1955, the battleship Novorossiysk sank in Sevastopol Bay. Among the versions of his death that were actively developed by the investigation was this: the explosion was the work of Italian underwater saboteurs. Half a century later, the case continues to remain murky, and the “Italian trace” still cannot be discounted.

At the origins of a chic tradition

Having entered the First World War in 1915, Italy fought neither shaky nor weak. Its main enemy was Austria-Hungary, which even then was barely able to resist the blows of Russian troops.

Despite the not very successful actions of the troops, Italian military engineers, the heirs of Leonardo, showed miracles of ingenuity. Towards the end of the war, they created, for example, a Grillo boat, equipped with tractor tracks for overcoming booms. An attempt to use it to carry out sabotage in the Austrian port of Pola did not lead to success: the Grillo, noticed by the Austrians, was scuttled by the crew, who were captured in full. But the very idea of ​​delivering a demolition charge by saboteurs directly to ships stationed in an enemy base was not abandoned by the Italians. Mechanical engineer Major Rosetti and Lieutenant of the medical service Paolucci, based on a 7-meter torpedo, created the “miniatta” - the first transporter used in combat conditions, capable of carrying two mines of 170 kg each, as well as two swimmers. The latter, who did not have diving equipment, were forced to wrap their heads in shiny material in order to blend with the surface of the night sea.

On the night of October 30, the transporter, together with the crew consisting of the authors of the invention, was delivered by a torpedo boat to the place where the first combat operation began - 2.5 cables (1 cables - 185.2 m) from the port of Pula, where the large Austrian battleship Viribus was stationed unitis". With incredible difficulty, having passed booms and anti-submarine nets, the swimmers attached one charge to the side of the battleship. Having brought the second mine into firing position, Paolucci and Rosetti left it along with the torpedo to the will of the waves and chance, and they themselves were soon discovered, caught and lifted aboard the Viribus Unitis. Imagine their surprise when they learned that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had fallen and the ship had been captured by the Yugoslavs. They tried in vain to convince the captain of the need to evacuate the crew. The explosion, which occurred somewhat later than expected, claimed the lives of several Yugoslav sailors and their incredulous commander. Interestingly, the second mine also worked. She was washed up against the side of the auxiliary vessel Vin, which was badly damaged as a result of the explosion.

The operation did not bring any immediate benefit, rather the opposite. However, she demonstrated the extraordinary potential of small watercraft. And the Italians, unlike other participants in the war, did not forget this lesson.

Start

In 1935, when Italy attacked Abyssinia, there was a threat of war with England. Italy feared and did not want this war. But there was no time to retreat, and the Italian Supermarina (the command of the Royal Navy) began to look for opportunities to increase the combat potential of the naval forces. Several naval officers began developing new sabotage weapons, as well as underwater equipment.

A small group of volunteers, mostly submarine officers, began training at a base near the port of La Spezia. They trained in the use of new weapons and equipment, played a lot of sports, and underwent psychological training. All the companies that produced equipment and weapons for naval special forces were located in the same city. This was the beginning of the 10th MAS flotilla (Xa Flottiglia MAS), which during the Second World War gained fame as the most combat-ready unit of the Italian armed forces.

The flotilla was officially created in December 1936. It was headed by Captain 2nd Rank Georgini and consisted of four groups, designated by the first letters of the Greek alphabet.

The first of them used ultra-small submarines of the Caproni company with a displacement of 30 and 12 tons with a crew of 4 and 2 people, respectively. Each of these boats carried 2 torpedoes. These ships had too short a range and were powerless against booms and anti-submarine barriers, so during the war they were used only against weakly defended Soviet ports on the Black Sea.

The second group was armed with a kind of fireboat - boats filled with explosives. It was assumed that a boat, delivered to the target by a surface ship and controlled by just one person, could jump the booms at high speed. Then the driver directed him to the target, and he jumped overboard. Such weapons were rarely used in combat conditions, and by the end of the war they were forgotten.

The third group was equipped with a "maiale" - a new version of the Rosetti and Paolucci apparatus. The device was also designed on the basis of a standard naval torpedo. Its creators were Major Teseo Tesei (group commander) and Elio Toschi. The main innovation was the detachable warhead, which, upon arrival at the target, was mounted by a crew of 2 people on the side of the enemy ship. The crew was equipped with rubber wetsuits and closed-circuit oxygen breathing apparatus, which, by the way, were manufactured under an English license. Torpedoes, jokingly called “pigs” by Italian sailors, were delivered to the target by submarines, and already during the war the technique of releasing them from a submerged position was developed.

The so-called “frog people” are demolition swimmers who were part of the fourth group, which received the letter “gamma”. Equipped with the already mentioned diving equipment, they carried light containers with explosives or magnetic mines on their belts. The "Frogs" carried out many very spectacular operations in the ports of the Mediterranean and covered themselves with unfading glory.

An important component of the successful work of the 10th MAS flotilla was the strictest secrecy, which, despite the southern temperament and accompanying talkativeness, the Italians were able to ensure at the proper level.

Their finest hour

Italy did not expect to enter World War II until 1942. By this time the army, air force and navy would be fully armed. Operations at sea were supposed to begin with massive operations of the 10th flotilla in enemy ports. However, Mussolini's passion carried the unprepared country onto the warpath on June 10, 1940. The military had to improvise.

The first operations of the 10th Flotilla were unsuccessful. Two submarines with "pigs" were sunk by the British, and the flotilla commander who was on board one of them was captured. Moreover, one of the torpedoes fell into enemy hands undamaged, and the British, having copied and modified it, began to create their own naval sabotage forces.

One of the most talented and fearless officers of the 10th flotilla was the young Prince Valerio Borghese, who began the war as the commander of the midget submarine "Shire" and soon became the commander of the flotilla's underwater detachment. In October, he managed to land three crews of the Mayete in the Bay of Gibraltar, but due to an unprecedented combination of unfavorable circumstances, success was not achieved. However, the authorities appreciated the skill and courage of the young officer. He was awarded the medal "For Military Valor", and in November he was granted an audience with the Duce himself at the Palazzo Venezia.

On March 26, 1941, in Souda Bay (Crete), exploding boats sank the English cruiser York, a tanker and a cargo ship. However, soon, during a failed attempt to attack La Valletta, Theseus and the new flotilla commander, Captain 2nd Rank Moccagatta, were killed.

However, after two unsuccessful attempts, on September 20, Borghese on the “Shira” still managed to penetrate the Gibraltar roadstead, where the crews of human torpedoes sank three large cargo ships.

On December 19, Borghese, who later received the nickname “Black Prince,” carried out his most brilliant operation. On the evening of the 18th he managed to come within 1 mile of the entrance to Alexandria Bay and release three transporters, commanded by Lieutenant Durand de la Pennne, engineer-captain Marceglia and Captain Martelotta. Brave swimmers made their way into the harbor and sunk the British battleships Valiant and Queen Elizabeth - the last ships of this class remaining with the British in this theater - as well as the tanker Sagona. The destroyer Jervis was also damaged. It was a dark day for the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. The commander of the Mediterranean squadron, Admiral E.B. Cunningham, paying tribute to the crews of the “human torpedoes,” wrote: “One can only admire the cold-blooded courage and enterprise of the Italians. Everything was carefully thought out and planned.”

Under the leadership of the "black prince"

In the spring of 1942, the 10th Flotilla was reorganized. It was headed by Borghese, who by that time had received the rank of captain 2nd rank and had been listed as acting commander since the summer of 1941. Borghese placed the leadership of all surface forces at the disposal of his deputy, Salvatore Todaro, while he devoted himself entirely to preparing and conducting operations under water.

The flotilla included assault torpedo boats located on three floating bases and designed to attack enemy ships on the high seas - where the enemy least expects to encounter an enemy torpedo boat. However, the boats managed to chalk up only one victory. On August 29, 1942, they torpedoed the destroyer Eridge. Subsequently, in the summer of 1943, assault boats took part in the defense of Sicily from the Anglo-American landing, however, without much success.

More successful were the “frog people” who sank and damaged five British merchant ships in the port of Gibraltar (September 1942).

The most secret and most adventurous operation of the 10th flotilla was the creation of an underwater saboteur base right on the roadstead of Gibraltar. At the very beginning of the war, the Italian merchant ship Olterra was sunk by its crew and, half hidden under water, stood off the Spanish coast in the Bay of Gibraltar, directly opposite the British military port. Italian saboteurs, disguised as civilians, deserters or in double-bottomed trucks, arrived in Spain and made their way onto the Olterra. Weapons and equipment were also smuggled there. The Gibraltar unit was named "Squadra Ursa Major" ("Ursa Major Squadron").

The ship was equipped with repair shops and a service station, and an underwater hatch was cut into the hull for torpedoes to exit. And all this under the noses of the British and the Spaniards, who were increasingly loyal to their allies. As a result, from December 8, 1942 to September 8, 1943 (the date of Italy's withdrawal from the war on the Axis side), assault units sank 14 Allied ships in Gibraltar with a total displacement of 75,578 tons.

In April 1942, the Italians transferred 6 torpedo boats, 6 midget submarines and 10 exploding boats of the 10th flotilla through the Balkans and through Vienna along the Danube to the Black Sea. So its units, under the command of Captain 1st Rank Mimbelli, began their operations on the Eastern Front. At first, assault craft were based in Romania, then in Crimea, and then for a short time even in Anapa. The flotilla took part in the capture of Crimea by German-Romanian troops, in the assault on Sevastopol and other operations. She sank 2 Soviet submarines, 3 cargo ships, and made a lot of sabotage attacks. The boats repeatedly went out to attack coastal positions of Soviet troops. Their losses were 2 boats and 1 submarine, killed during the bombing.

In 1942, 4 small boats were sent to Lake Ladoga and took part in the siege of Leningrad. With the onset of winter, the ships were handed over to the Finns, and the crews returned to their homeland.

The conclusion of a truce with the allies came as a real surprise to the personnel of the 10th MAS flotilla. At this time, Borghese was preparing a grandiose sabotage action against the New York fleet. Some sailors recognized the legitimacy of the new government of Marshal Badoglio. Of these, the 10th MAS flotilla was practically re-formed under the command of Captain 1st Rank Fortz. These units, together with Allied troops, took part in the battles with the Germans. Thus, they managed to carry out several successful operations, for example, in Genoa and La Spezia, where they fought shoulder to shoulder with the British. In addition, the Italians passed on their experience to their English colleagues, who had long been striving to create naval sabotage groups, but had still not achieved success comparable to the Italians.

However, a significant part of the personnel, led by Borghese, remained in La Spezia and went into the service of the Italian Republic, formed by Mussolini in the north of the country and under strict German control. The armed forces of the republic were actually units that were strictly subordinate to their leaders. Borghese became one of these “field commanders”. He behaved quite independently. Thus, many of his subordinates continued to wear monarchical emblems - stars. He stated that he “would not allow politics into the military environment.” However, this did not stop the ambitious officer from actively intriguing the Duce at the “court”. The prince sought to take the post of commander of the armed forces of the republic. There were rumors that he was not averse to removing Mussolini himself. Borghese was once even arrested, however, since the 10th flotilla was one of the few combat-ready Italian units and was subordinate only to him, the incident was soon settled. However, the unit did not achieve significant success until the very end of the war.

Second birth

After the end of the war, the naval saboteur units that had fought on opposite sides were merged together. Of course, Borghese was removed from command, but until his death in 1974 he remained a living symbol of naval special forces.

The peace treaty concluded in 1947 with the victorious powers prohibited Italy from having “human torpedoes” and exploding boats in its arsenal. The 10th flotilla was disbanded. However, secretly from their former opponents, Italian sailors continued training, using wartime equipment.

However, already in 1952, the terms of the agreement were softened, and an assault craft unit was recreated in the port city of Varignano. It was commanded by Borghese's former comrade-in-arms, Captain 1st Rank Birindelli. And the Italians again quickly took a leading position in the field of underwater sabotage. Marine special forces units were equipped with the latest technology, in particular ultra-small submarines of the latest design. These submarines were capable of carrying out sabotage against enemy ships, wherever they were. Such submarines were easily delivered to the area of ​​​​proposed operations by both military and merchant ships.

Having changed several names, this unit is now known as COMSUBIN and bears the name Teseo Tesei.

"Comsubin" is subordinate to the command of the fleet and is headed by an officer with the rank of admiral. It consists of three groups. These are GOI - Invasion Task Force, GOS - Submarine Task Force and GNS - Naval Special Forces.

The unit has its own scientific and technical center and a personnel training center.

The invasion task force, which is the attack wing of the Komsubin, consists of teams of combat scuba divers operating in coastal waters against enemy ships and coastal targets. Nicknamed "incursori" ("aggressors"), these fighters are equipped with Zodiac-type inflatable boats, kayaks and underwater tows, as well as miniature boats and submarines. Soldiers can also land from the air - using helicopters or by conventional landing (with parachute deployment at both high and low altitudes).

The submarine task force is designed to protect Italian navy vessels and port facilities. Its tasks include preventing enemy sabotage, participating in mine clearance and rescue operations both on the surface and deep underwater. The group is equipped with a variety of equipment - from mini-submarines to a diving bell.

A special group of the fleet, which has three vessels with a displacement of 2000 and 3200 tons, provides technical and, so to speak, transport support to the other two divisions of Komsubin. The main floating base of "Komsubin" is the frigate "Castore" - a technically advanced military vessel equipped with a wide variety of equipment.

Selected according to the most stringent criteria, special forces receive truly comprehensive skills. In addition to scuba diving, this includes minecraft, parachute training, techniques for handling all existing types of weapons, and hand-to-hand combat techniques, including underwater. They can control any vehicle with equal dexterity - from a submarine to a helicopter. Paratroopers of the 9th Airborne Battalion, the "Col Moschin" unit, as well as fighters of the DOA (Demolitari Ostacoli Antisbarco) teams - the underwater repair units of the Italian Navy - also undergo underwater training at the naval special forces training center.

"Komsubin" is ready to perform a wide variety of tasks. Thus, during Operation Desert Storm, the Italians checked suspicious ships, and during peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Rwanda they were engaged in rescue work. But sabotage activities have not been forgotten. Komsubin fighters are trained to blow up enemy ships at anchor, port facilities, and destroy coastal strategic objects.

Sailors also come to the aid of the police. This was the case during the kidnapping of Aldo Moro and the sensational story of the seizure of the ship Achille Lauro by Palestinian terrorists.

Training Komsubin military personnel is an expensive and labor-intensive task. Each officer or sailor of these elite units is a specialist with a truly multifaceted specialization. Therefore, those of them who, due to age or health conditions, cannot continue to serve in “combat units” do not retire, but continue to serve in auxiliary units or training centers.

The activities of "Komsubin" are strictly classified. However, as Borghese wrote in his memoirs: “An Italian would rather die than agree to remain silent for at least a couple of minutes.” So information about the “top-secret” unit is still leaking out.

The British and Germans began to adopt Italian experience during the war. Americans began to show increasing interest in the developments of Komsubin in the 80s. However, so far no country in the world has managed to create anything that can compare with the Italian underwater special forces.

Instead of an epilogue: "Novorossiysk"

According to the 1947 peace treaty, Italy transferred a number of warships to the USSR, including the old battleship Giulio Cesare. In 1948, it became part of the Black Sea Fleet under the name Novorossiysk. Even earlier, Borghese, who after the war created the ultra-right organization Black Order, said: “Not a single Italian ship will serve under the Bolshevik flag.” And he swore this on his sword to the former king Victor Emmanuel. Of course, it is unlikely that the explosion on the battleship was the work of Italian naval special forces. But we must not forget about the retired “black prince” and his also retired colleagues. The story with Novorossiysk is very reminiscent of the style of work of Borghese, who, by the way, was awarded a military order in the late 50s. And the date of the disaster coincides with the day when in 1918 Rosetti and Paolucci, riding a torpedo, set off on their dangerous journey.