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Another year went by…
No-one remembers these guys who entered the Alexandria harbour and did the unimaginable…
Here in their homeland, too many curse them. Without knowing anything about them…
Thank you Gentlemen. You make me proud of being Italian.
Attachment 129184
They said:
-How’s it going Bianchi?
-Fine, Commander.
-Are you scared?
-Yes.
-So am I.
Well, let’s go!
That took some nerve.
Bob
Yes they sank the Queen Elizabeth at her mooring by the Italian Human Torpedo's in Alexandria Harbour they kept it secret but she was sitting on the bottom until they could refloat her and get her dry docked very brave men it cost them. I have the book underwater warriors very brave on both sides not sure I think it was the Italians that called their ride "The Pig"
HMS Queen Elizabeth;
Queen Elizabeth took part in the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915 bombarding forts, but missed Jutland in 1916. She became Admiral Beatty's flagship in 1917 after he assumed command of the Grand Fleet. In the Second World War she was mined by Italian frogmen and badly damaged, but did not ground in the shallow water of Alexandria Harbour in 1941. She was subsequently repaired, and served in the Far East until 1945.
Yes. They called them “maiali”, pigs.
They sank the Queen Elisabeth, the Valiant and damaged the destroyer Jervis and the tanker Sagona.
Shortly before the time set on the fuzes, they informed the British so that the crews could ba saved. In total, there were 8 dead.
Only the shallow waters of the harbour saved the two battleships.
6 Men and 3 guided torpedoes. What a deed!
It's still remembered by some of us in the UK and we have named one of our new aircraft carriers "HMS Queen Elizabeth".Quote:
Originally Posted by Ovidio
Those Italians who manned the midget submarines were serving their country and doing their duty, as were the Fleet Air Arm pilots who attacked the Italian fleet at Taranto in 1940.
Yes I think Winston or some other higher up dignitary visited the QE at the time and was not informed she was actually sitting on the bottom of her mooring sunk!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ovidio
I am not sure what constituted being sunk meant at the time I guess being non combat effective although her secondary armament may have been able to put up AA fire either way what they did was an outstanding raid.
Like allot of ppl here Ovidio my shelves are full of hero's some of their stories beggar belief of what they did, in all reality it encompasses all the fighting men.
I'm not including in this the suicidal Banzai charges into a hail of lead as that tactic was their ticket in their minds to a glorified death albeit a misguided approach as to what constitutes bravery!
I think the ones that stand out in my mind and what I have read extensively of their exploits are the "Thin Men" those that were the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserves who deloused the aerial mines the Germans dropped.
These guys were at the sharp end fighting a foe as fiendish as the devil trying to kill them these kept coming in various guises with traps that did not let the fuse run but detonated the mine instantly so they would never discover its secret.
Syme & Mould were the two main ones but there were plenty of others I will expand just one of exploit to underpin the dogged tenacity getting to grips with these god awful things.
I think Syme did this one over 4 days;
There was a mine that penetrated deep into an earthen dam wall no way to pull it out lest it explode and flood the village so it was decided to dig to it from the front of the dam wall in a horizontal tunnel and delouse it underground in situ.
The tunnel was only big enough for Syme on his belly using phosphor bronze tools filling a bucket and with a rope tied to his ankle being pulled out backwards by an erk then crawl in again and repeat the procedure.
A sustained effort to reach the mine, then every night a lady evaded the blockade to get where he was staying alone to wash and iron his muddy cloths so he had a fresh clean uniform each morning.
When his tooling touched the casing he was relieved so he cleared the mud away expecting to see the fuse cover, it was not there! he was confused and pondered as to what had gone on and what next to do.
What had happened is the tail piece had snapped and the casing rotated 90 degrees placing the fuse on the other side.
So he was at a X roads cannot blow it up "No", only one thing for it tunnel around the mine and delouse it whilst lying against it he sent the rating away at this point no use two of them dying.
So picture this you are @ 30 feet underground cuddling a tonne of H.E in a tunnel you can only crawl along delousing a mine which may or may not posses a ZUS-40 (Detonated if the fuse was pulled) booby trap and a fuse that ran in seventeen seconds.
He deloused the mine but remember they could not have anything magnetic on them and be quiet as a mouse as it may have been a magnetic/acoustic mine a sustained 4 day ordeal.
That is just one instance of the many hair raising do's on land and in the water, they never stopped day in day out, many perished some of the mines even scared the Germans who made them.
And what they got - The George Cross one of them got the bar to it cannot remember if it was Syme or Mould I think.
Sadly Mould died of appendicitis after the war, it's been a few years since I've read that book but the enemy has many faces.
The book is called Softly Tread The Brave By Southall, others I have along the same vein Open The Ports By William Kimber and Service Most Silent By John Frayn Turner
Hugh Syme is one of only two people to be awarded the George Cross, George Medal, and Bar, the other being John Bridge.Quote:
Originally Posted by CINDERS
Ovidio, Italy has thousands of things of which she can be proud. Bravery is bravery, but in a bad cause it is mostly tragedy and futility.
As for war, let Italy rest on her Roman laurels; it's only fitting that after such a history she should prefer life to war.
Take pride in a bravery that brings only good: such as Nuvolari chasing Varzi down country roads at night at 140Kmh with his lights off so Varzi did not know he was there!
A very Merry Christmas to you and yours, and all who love life and hate war. :cheers:
One of the Afrika Korps generals once said that the Italian soldier could be just as good as a German soldier when commanded correctly. I think that he meant when under German command or he didn't think much of high ranking Italian officers.
In operations in Italian East Africa the South Africans many times faced Italians in hard fought combat. Well officered, good leaders. On the ground and in the air. The Italians were let down by many other factors such as outdated and worn out equipment, lack of support from Italy, lack of motivation to fight. It didn't pay to underestimate their fighting capability.
In my dim distant past as a Police Diver we tried a variety of Hard Hats, Kirby Morgan neoprene helmets and of course re breathers.
These were what all countries brave divers wore to stop exhaust bubbles leaving the diver and coming to the surface as they today in a more sophisticated way.
Many of the English Royal Navy divers on chariots used to disappear as they fell off as salt water enter the rebreather pot that you used to have to level the crystals and tighten down the clamp. If you didn't do it up tight enough and sea water got in, thats what you breathed in.....lethal cocktail.
I suspect reading some of the Italian divers stories in the straits of Gibralter in WW2 they had the same problem too!!! All brave men!