ITALIAN HUMAN TORPEDO MAIALE SSB

Maiale (also known as SLC) is the name of a type of Italian human torpedo from the Second World War. The torpedo length was 6.7 meters, diameter - 533 mm, its maximum speed was only 2.5 knots. The people responsible for creating the Maiale torpedo were the Regia Marine officers: Teslo Tesei and Elios Toschi. Live torpedoes of this type were used (from 1941) in the 10th MAS flotilla, i.e. a special, strike and subversive flotilla of the Italian Navy, consisting of troops of combat divers, explosive motorboats and live Maiale torpedoes. The latter was constructed on the basis of the standard Italian 533 mm torpedo. It was powered by electric motors, and its main weapon was a detachable warhead with a time fuse, initially weighing 220 kg, and later 300 kg. The most famous action involving Maiale was the December 1941 attack on the British port of Alexandria, which severely damaged the battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth. Interestingly, all the Maiale pilots involved in this attack survived, but were captured.