Italian Assault Craft, 1940-1945: Human Torpedoes and other Special Attack Weapons

In stark contrast to the modest performance of its large surface fleet in World War II, the Italian Navy’s smallest units achieved its most spectacular successes. It made a specialty of unconventional methods of attack—explosive motorboats, human torpedoes, and miniature submarines—that were employed with ingenuity and daring to surprise, discomfort and baffle the enemy. In December 1941, the whole balance of the naval war in the Mediterranean was altered by six divers riding three of the S...