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10th Light Flotilla - Italian Underwater Operations at Malta and Alexandria
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2021
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Today we look at two operations of the Italian 10th Light Flotilla, one successful, the other not so much, during WW2.
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Pinned post for Q&A :)
How would you rank the three Villians of Jutland? (Betty, Chatfield and Seymour) and which would you take outside and hit with the stupid bat to increase their intelligence?
would you say army navy rivalry was a distinct phenomenon in japan or was it more just both the army and navy being chaotically infighting places generally, because you mentioned the navy fought the navy and the army fought the army in your last discussion of this
Q and A. I recently rewatched your video on how Hood was destroyed wonderful video by the way I would like to see you do other videos similar to other warships that were destroyed breaking down their final moments just like you did in the Hood video. In the "what if she had been refitted Hood video" you said maybe you would do a video similar on Arizona and why only the bow was blown off of the Arizona whereas the entire ship was destroyed with the hood. I don't know why but this is very interesting to me and I would like to see that video. Maybe a campero between all of the different magazine detonations? Maybe compare Queen Mary to hood to Arizona to barham to Yamato? Long time subscriber keep up the good videos
Not really an outboard motor. In the states we would call this a stern drive. It has the articulation of an outboard but the motor is in the hull. It allow you to build a powerboat with much better balance than an outboard. Great content.
Hey Drach, a quick Geek Question.
You are in command of a Dictator Class Cruiser. What do you choose as your Escort:
A Dauntless Class Light Cruiser.
A three strong squadron of Sword/Firestorm Class Frigates.
Also would you object to a Retribution Class Battleship named Saint Drachinfel (Patron Saint of Navel Gunnery)
Those Italian divers, are stuff of legends. And I'm saying this, as 25 years professional diver, as of today. Unless you are one of us, you have no point of refference to think of.
I'm telling you. 007, Navy seals, Skorzeny's SS, SAS, whatever Rambo's you can find in all of history, nothing even come close to Italian divers during ww2.
Not by a long margin.
in fact the allies called them frogmen, like those serving in their respective navies. but over time it was discovered that the 10th MAS flotilla had a much more complex structure. the division was made up of 20,000 men and included within it several subgroups or brigades, which, once they had received the basic training of the 10th, specialized in the various subgroups, such as the 1st mas, which used small and fast, armed boats of 2/3 torpedoes, or the 3rd mas, which used explosive boats, then there was the gamma brigade, which was responsible for opening gaps in the defenses and undermining sensitive points etc. these men also trained to carry out operations on land and in fact, within the Royal Italian Navy, these men were called stormtroopers and not frogmen. today, the men of the 10th are considered the first true raiders in history. the Alexandria raid, is still considered today, the largest operation carried out by special forces in history. in that context, 6 men with 3 torpedoes sank 2 battleships, an oil tanker and damaged a destroyer. From 1940 to 1943, these men sank or seriously damaged 200,000 tons of shipping, split between British and Soviet units. at the outbreak of the civil war in Italy, the 10th MAS flotilla was fragmented into 2 parts, one part came under the control of Mussolini and the new republic, taking the name of X MAS. while the remaining members remained faithful to the king and took the name of MARIASSALTO, carrying out sabotage missions aimed at opening the way for the allied troops towards northern Italy. after 1945, with the surrender treaty, the British imposed on Italy the immediate disbandment of the 10th MAS flotilla, but the Americans did not agree, they wanted to steal its secrets, the techniques that these men used and what type of preparation was necessary to put these men in a position to survive the missions they were able to face. thus, with the help of the Americans, all the departments that made up the 10th were once again grouped under a single symbol and took the name of COMSUBIN and today, they are the special forces of the Italian navy.
Given the reputation of even modern rebreathers, a 1940s rebreather system is not something I'd touch with a ten foot pole…
A lot of the failure rate in modern rebreathers is down to complacency to be perfectly honest. Divers sometimes neglect post dive maintenance, or dive knowing their rebreather has faults because there is a redundancy built into the system, whilst forgetting that that redundancy is there to allow safe termination of a dive in the event of a failure before it becomes point critical (thus potentially fatal).
In other words a lot of it is down to training. Yes, rebreathers are more complex, they are more complex to maintain, to test, and to operate, and require a greater level of training and skill to use than open circuit scuba, but so long as you rigorously stick to maintenence and testing, and keep to the predive checklists when it comes to assembling and checking your equipment prior to your dive then you minimise the risks.
Oh, and always make sure you have an adequate bailout setup! Some rebreather divers do not use a bailout, they are termed Alpinists.... Bailout is essentially extra tanks and breathing mechanism carried just in case your main (ie. your rebreather) fails. Obviously the deeper you dive the more extensive your bailout setup has to be, and deep dive durations are more often than not determined not by how much gas you can carry for the rebreather, but how much you can carry for your bailout.
But yes, 1940's rebreathers were primitive compared to todays.....
Jacques Cousteau did an analysis for the French Navy after the war, and concluded that more than half the combat swimmers died due to faulty or poorly-designed equipment. My last job in the RN was looking after the diving store in Pompey, and we calculated that more divers died from out of date documentation (which was our job to keep up to date) than from shark bites. just saying
C. I.A. we like that rebreather , how long does it work ?
Thunderball technical crew About 20 seconds
C.I.A. But , bond uses it for a long time
Technical crew. It’s a movie, It’s called editing, and multiple takes.
@@alganhar1 Also modern rebreathers uses air not pure oxygen, I assume this make them much more complex.
However it let you dive deep who the old versions gave you oxygen poisoning if you did, 10 meters safe depth is pointless outside of infiltration.
Astronauts uses pure oxygen but at 0.2 bar making the space suit less stiff, they also have low risk of getting air into the co2 scrubber.
@@alganhar1 this is a very interesting article you wrote as I really know nothing about the rebreather as I only read an article years ago! Thanks for sharing this knowledge...
Its incredible that later many of the same men that planned and executed theese operations performed the same job hand in hand with their british equivalents to sink ships in northern italy to prevent the germans to use them as either gun platforms or to block harbors by sinking them at the entrances.
I didn't know that. Thanks for the post.
I know Aquila and at least one cruiser were sunk that way. do you have any info on more?
@@sawyerawr5783
Not that i can think of right now.I think there was another cruiser damaged, the Gorizia, but I am not too sure sice it was also damaged by air bombardment. We can add to their efforts several operations concerned with reconnaissance and infiltration/exfiltration of spies. But as for this type of raids "only" those two.
Wasn't Xth MAS a unit of hardcore fascist who remained loyal to Salo republic? I think they even were involved in anti-partisan operations.
@@SZKARLUPIEN
There were two X MAS flotillas.
The first one, the true one of the royal italian navy performed the raids and commando operations.
The second one was formed by the last X MAS commander, Junio Valerio Borghese made up of fascists. It did perform a couple of botched raids i think but it was mostly a light infantry unit.
Then there was Mariassalto/Gruppo Mezzi Assalto (assault vehicles group) who was the actual successor to the royal navy X MAS Flotilla that operated in the italian navy alongside the allies. Later forming the cadre that kept the specialty alive in the Italian Navy. Even today, despite the fact that they trace their origins back to the MAS Flotilla the Italian Navy Raiders left all that Heraldry aside, ruined forever by Borghese and his band of fanatics.
Morgan: "So. You've sunk my battleship. Congratulations. Do you want a medal?"
De la Penne: "Yes."
Morgan: "Here."
De la Penne: "Thank you."
yup.
When *GG* is not enough, you give out the medals yourself. Morgan and De la Penne sit at the grown ups table.
Chads the both of them.
@@sanitarycockroach9038 Somewhat reminiscent of the Admiral Hipper and the Glowworm
Morgan: "You're welcome."
De la Penne: "Sorry for the battleship, BTW."
Morgan: "You're forgiven. But the Trincomalee drydock isn't."
De la Penne: "Sorry, the what now?"
Morgan: "Nothing." *to himself*: "f*cking drydock..."
At a large scale, the Italian military was not very effective in WW II but there have always been individual Italians with great courage and skill. And that is still true today... Race car drivers, skiers, mountaineers.... And the Italian magistrates that have prosecuted the Mafia at enormous personal risk.
Emilio Bianchi died in Viareggio in 2015, aged 103. He was honoured by the MM naming a new FREMM large frigate "Emilio Bianchi" (the previous one was named after Schergat). But these ships were swiftly included in a large deal , and curiously renamed and sold to Egypt (!) as completed. Former "Bianchi" was transferred in April 2021. These ships will be based in Alexandria...
👍👍
Props to the Captain of the Valiant!
Comanding a ship of such name instilled into him the ability to recognize and honor Valorous merit when he witnessed it.
Why thank you.
The idea that you could be dying of cold, in Egypt, and still complete your mission under-water and in complete darkness is just so amazing.
Always love the frogman vs ship engagements. They show how some daring and some precisely placed force can make a difference. One of the great examples of asymmetric warfare.
That's mad respect to have the commanding officer of the ship you sank request to present you the medal you earned for sinking his ship. o7
It was also classy to tell the crew they still had time to evacuate. Honorable men they were.
Excellent chapter. Never underestimate Italians. Their systems may sometimes be chaotic but ye gods they can fight when they need to and want too
And their food is excellent! Their wines a bit overrated though 😀
They are in their element as heroic individualists.
@@vespelian5769 and in their element of "pretty-fun-guy-to-be-around" commanders since medieval times too
Our boy got a sponsor, he's all grown up, brings a tear to the eye like CONTEMPLATING THE SHEER INCOMPETENCE OF THAT RAPSCALLION BEATTY JUST RAISE A SIGNAL PROPERLY FOR GODS SAKE YOU'RE AN ADMIRAL
Or employ a man who can do it properly
He should have tried SkillShare
I think this is actually his second sponsor. I seem to remember something called The Great Courses sponsored an earlier video.
Goddam it I was just about to start searching for Admiral Rozhestvensky's binoculars and now I have to watch A Drach video.
Me ofc
@wulpurgis you are in for a treat.
@wulpurgis he was ironically probably too good at his job...
@wulpurgis Rozhestvensky was dealt a rough hand. I'm not sure there was much chance for the Baltic Fleet to succeed in it's mission. Kamchatka's shenanigans were just a symptom of the poor state of the fleet at the start of their mission.
@@hillogical The very fact that Admiral R was able to get his awful fleet off the coast of Japan was a tribute to his brains and leadership. He actually told Czar Nicholas that he was going to lose any naval battle. The man who defeated him, Admiral Togo, paid tribute to the Russian admiral's bravery.
See these Frogmen just prove the memes about the Italians are wrong and they were very deadly and brave.
Too bad about that other meme of how a population of sentient beings follow a popinjay crapfest called Mussolini.
@@robertmatch6550 They made up for it in the end
@@12LoLproductions By running 'on time?'
@@robertmatch6550 More like hanging the dog and his family
Certain groups of the Italian armed forces fought hard. Have a pic of an Italian soldier as he is getting run over by a tank putting a mine on the underside hull that's tough
Between this, The Chieftain's exposition of the development of the Italian combined arms doctrine in the interwar period, and the Drach-MHV collab on the Italian navy's contribution to WW2, Italiy's rep as a fighting power is slowly but surely being cleared!
99% of the clowns that believe that the Italians were cowards have never put on a uniform themselves and put their life on the line for their country. They are barely worth the effort taken to ignore them.
Interesting that the Italians invented the Sterndrive (the "Inboard Outboard" motor), for their MAS boats all the way back in WWI , by the Isotta Fraschini company. The American company Mercury didn't start building them into race boats until the late 1940's , and widely into pleasure craft in the early 1960's . At one point I/O's had over 70% of the niche market. There were constant patent disputes about it with competitors (including Volvo-Penta and OMC), all of them apparently completely ignoring that the basic technology was already open-sourced for many decades. Due to more reliable and compact outboards becoming available (and the advent of 4-stroke and Diesel outboards), that share dropped quite a bit in later years.
Grew up with outboards and z-drives. Prefer direct drive. Fewer maintenance points. Less wear unless pushed beyond design limits. Got 8000h before replacing shaft bearings and seals on thriughhull and waterintake. Gearbox still tight. Outboards need overhaul after 500h..or much less. A mid engine direct drive boat is usually more seaworthy and rides better.
@@808bigisland Maintenance wise there is no comparison between inboards vs. I/O's (or outboards). Lol when i was living in Florida I would see moored boats where the outdrive had been left down in the water (probably because the lifting hydraulics had failed, a common thing), where the entire submerged part was gone at the water line, eaten away by corrosion and electrolysis. Maintenance cost is a big reason they are not as popular as in the past, and why the big horsepower outboards increased market share... often preferred to inboards in shoal water because they can be lifted. Another reason is that Twin outboards are easier to achieve for any given boat size, providing back-up security. The maintenance of an outboard is greater but it can be fairly easily removed and dropped off at the shop.
@@stevewindisch7400 might be so in Fl. Out here in the middle of the Pacific you want reliability. We dont have boat shops. Our Partstores are in Florida too. Driftwood is palmtree size or bigger. and these rip a sterndrive or lower right off your boat.You go slow and never stress drive and motor in 15f swells and stay far from the rocky coast and reefs. A direct drive slides easier across driftwood. Very different to Fl. With calm waters and sandy beaches. The only place where outboards rule is on our supertight and rotten boatramps. Your prop wont hit the lava when the boatrailer drops intoa 2 feet deep pothol on the dirttrack.
Eastside we park our boats in freshwaterstreams. That slows corrosion.
Well, sponsored Drach. That's a first.
EDIT: I don't mean that in a negative way, I'm glad he's getting some boost. Also, I do faintly remember something before, but certainly not of this level.
Actually, no! There's a video a couple months ago that had a specific sponsorship for something in relation to the channel (but still 3rd party). But still, he's moving up!
@@TheEDFLegacy he had a audible sponsor over a year ago before that
It's about time! He is way too good and watched to not benefit to the fullest
Yeah I don't begrudge Drach his sponsor spots. For as great of a job he does running this channel I think it's only fair. Plus it's always good sponsors, I might change my mind if he starts pusing Raid: Shadow Legends haha but for now I think it's great :)
I try and select sponsors on occasion where they have some relevance to the audience of a naval history channel :)
Valiant's captain being the one to present the award to Luigi was certainly an interesting revelation. Thank you for including that.
In hindsight the name of the ship was a hint for both sides the bravery of the Italians on one side and the honor and good sportsmanship on the British side.
As more of a WWII land warfare specialist, I will say that the Italian troops' have gotten a terrible but thoroughly undeserved reputation. Courage was never lacking, they were merely in the wrong war, at the wrong time with most of the worst equipment, aircraft notwithstanding.
And a major boss problem.
In fact, just like WW1.
Read Rommel's reports of the different national characteristics.
One of my now deceased (at 99!) neighbours manned anti aircraft guns in africa. And he had so many horror stories about old ww1 equipment and gear. As is said everywhere they really despised the commanders as they would often make them do the wrong things at the wrong time, further damaging their position in the africa campaign.
Most certainly the best naval special forces of ww2
Drach promised he’d do ads for legit companies and so far he’s kept his promise. This one does sound interesting to me.
As for the video. That was very interesting! Cowards don’t jump onto a torpedo, run it through murky waters at 3 knots, and then pull it by hand to the side of a battleship even though they can’t see a single thing.
My opinion about the WW2 Italians has changed 180 degrees since watching Drach’s and other accurate history UA-camrs.
The original 'Twilight Zone' TV series had many stories with 'twist' or 'final sentence' endings.
Nicely written, Drach Serling.
To underline the point.
Richard Matheson wrote 16 episodes of that series.
Often, he used 'twist' or 'final sentence' endings.
His best work (opinion) in this regards was NOT in the series.
It was a book that ended with the sentence "I am legend."
The final sentence being the title of the book.
Those frogmen on the Valiant had balls of titanium. Props to them for not spilling, but still telling the crew they could still escape.
These gentlemen had more bals than a snooker table.
What's a snooker
And they didn't even have a USS Johnson to carry them!
Decima Flottiglia-Mas.
Many (very many) years-ago now, I was a Taxi-Driver.
So: Friday night, pickup 4 Italian passengers, whom I greet in Italian, my Late uncle having fought through Monte Cassino.
My passengers begin asking me what I know of Italy during WW2.
I mention the sinking of 'Roma' and the attack by missile on 'Vittorio Venetto'; then go-on to mention Decima Flottiglia-Mas.
Turns-out: one of my passengers was nephew to an Gentleman who was a leading member/Founder of that very famous Italian Navy Unit.
...
It was an Honour to meet and converse with him. An Honour I continue to hold-dear.
Kind and Respectful Regards, Drachinifel, Uyraell, NZ.
I can only imagine Morgan saying "Jolly good show, old chap" as he awarded the medal
The 10th Flotilla, became infamous after the armistice for being associated with die hard fascist and being involved in war crimes. It was always identified as Xa MAS, yes there war an ordinal “a” (as in th) added to the Roman numeral. 🤷🏻♂️
Originally the MAS stood for Motoscafo armato silurante or armed torpedo speedboat, but after the armistice the unit became an elite infantry unit and the name was rebranded as Memento Audere Semper Latin for “always remember to dare” motto invented by Gabriele D’Annunzio a poet with strong fascist ideals.
The official Regia Marina name for this Maiale (pig) was SLC for siluro a lenta corsa (slow running torpedo), so not a submarine but a torpedo.
Those explosives speedboat were instead nicknamed Barchino Esplosivo for small explosive boats, more officially for the RM it was MTM motoscafo turismo modificato (Modified Tourist Speedboat), so much for the modification!
Tenth Flotilla were by far the most effective Italian unit of WWII, from what I have read on the subject. I would like to see Drac do a video on the attack on the Austo-Hungarian "Urbis Unitas" in the Adriatic.
viribus unitis, of the Tegethoff class
This is an incredible story of courage and perseverance in wartime. Also civilized conduct, as the interactions between the frogmen and BB Captain show.
My parents lived in Alexandria during that time and they told us the story of the Italian frogmen captured and the explosions in the harbor. It was great to listen to your detailed description of the events and bring the stories to life.
The Italian navies finest hour!
Irony is Captain Morgan's crew offering rum!
This was a very good video covering the events (and the italian names were almost recognisable! :D :D :D ). I see you have posted a picture of the Olterra ship, in the bay of Gibraltar. I suggest you look into its story - in a possible sequel to the 10th light flottilla operations - because it is very very interesting! I love your videos! Well done!
Drach, during the war RN sailors did not have their ship's name on their caps, just HMS. It was an attempt to not give the enemy any information about what ships were around should they be sunk and survivors picked up by the enemy.
First, I just want to say that I find all of your videos very interesting and informative! Not sure if you have ever done a video on the Merchant Marine or as the British say, the Merchant Navy. The Merchant's service and the invaluable sacrifice to the war effort goes overlooked her in the U.S. By all accounts the U.S. Merchant Marine suffered losses second to the U.S. Marines, IIRC. Also a little known fact is that the Merchant Sailor's pay stopped as soon as the ship was sunk! Even with those odds, most of those that survived a sinking signed on to another ship as soon as they could. Another fact, a lot of young men that were deemed unfit for serving in the Armed Services, joined the Merchant Marine. As a retired Merchant Mariner (NOT Merchant Marine) I would love to see you do a video on the sacrifices of these men!
That's what I heard from my grandfather. He spent the first half of the war still in high school, working evenings at the local defense plant. Upon reaching the age of enlistment, however, he was rejected by the army because of his poor eyesight and thick glasses. So he ended up in the Merchant Marine, sailing across the Pacific by '45. We still have his letters to his mother, in particular trying to get back home for Christmas in '45.
Ah, the frogmen riding modified torpedoes
Thank you for highlighting the role Admiral Morgan choose to take in the honouring of his erstwhile enemy. Those episodes of mutual respect and admiration between enemies are something I am always pleased to learn about.
Not even sunup in Alaska yet. Thanks for the excuse for a coffee break!
This shows how difficult Malta was. Even battered to rubble, the island would not be easy to take, and the harbour couldn't be sunk.
Chivarly at its finest. Nice show by the admiral at the end!
About the "Pigs" nickname of those manned torpedoes - the name in Italian is "maliale", meaning "pig mother", due to the creator of the manned torpedo, Teseo Tesei, cursing it often in trials and training as such
"Maiale". It doesn't mean "mother pig", just pig.
It’s amazing to see Drach getting sponsors. He has grown so much. Making me tear up
Sadly, those brave and competent members of the Italian armed forces in both world wars were ill-served by their leaders.
Unlike our elite in the Great War...
Reminds me of the British in WW1. At least in WW2 Britain did learn along the way and did not just sacrifice more and more soldiers for... almost nothing.
Well I wouldn’t say sadly. It’s probably a good thing axis leaders were shit.
Without those leaders' decision to go to war they would have never gained fame...
There's a lot of that going around, matter which country.
These guys had balls of solid rock.
No need for weight belts!
Perfectly timed for my lunch break.
And no one ever complained about having to say "Schleswig-Holstein" ever again.
Great topic for a video! Thank You!
These guys are pure Warriors
I love that ' you sank my ship, here is a medal '
Usually it’s ' congratulations, what do you want? A medal'
The 10th light flotilla, in Italian 10ma flottiglia MAS (Motoscafi Armati Siluranti) is pretty famous, or infamous depending on who you ask, in Italian culture, especially among the nostalgic of the fascist regime.
the 10th light flotilla BEFORE 8th sept 1943 and the 10th light flotilla AFTER 8th sept 1943 share the same name and the same commander... but that's the end of the similarities: different formations, different scope, different type of warfare (the "after" unit was basically a land unit). The fame/infamy is all attached to the second group as they were engaged in some pretty shady anti-partesan warfare. On the other hand, the italian navy is quite proud of the "first" 10th light flotilla.
@@carabas67 Absolutely right, but not many Italians who knows the name also knows the story. Fascist era is a taboo in italy.
and much more complicated than that. the tenth was a navy force (navy special forces) the tenth was made up of 20,000 men and included different specialties within it. for example, the men in charge of piloting the bomb boats were part of the first group of assault men. then there was the GAMMA division, made up of assault divers etc. etc. the entire corps was trained for different types of use, even on dry land. given how it was structured, we can say that in fact, the 10 mas. it was the first naval special force in history. today each branch of the armed forces has its own special force, but in almost every modern army, the most prestigious special forces are those connected to the various navies. Why? for the simple reason that while the other special forces of the army, for example, train for unconventional warfare on land and superficially study the other 2 environments (water and air), the special forces of the Western navies use the concept of war on sea, air and land and this makes them versatile for any type of mission. the first to use this concept were those of the 10th. the operational base was located in La Spezia, in northern Italy, but there was also a detachment in Taranto, in southern Italy. when following the armistice the civil war broke out in Italy (because that's what it is about) the commander of the tenth Borghese with most of his men remained blocked in La Spezia, in the area controlled by the republic, while the remaining men remained in Taranto, in the area controlled by the Kingdom of Italy. initially, the tenth of the north, declared itself independent and asked Admiral Paolo Thaon of Revel for orders on what to do. but he responded by saying that in these cases, there was no right or wrong decision to make, and he dismissed them, putting the decision back in their hands. at that point the tithe split, with the men from the north joining the republic and those from the south, who remained under the control of the royal navy, changing its name to MARIASSALTO. but the two sides remained in contact throughout the rest of the war, with the 10th negotiating the release of prisoners and sometimes warning its former comrades of possible danger. Were they fascists? This is how they are described, but the truth is that most of them were not fascists, but were fanatical patriots who did what they thought was right for their country. the demonstration? when the Germans began the procedures to return the Trentino territories to Austria, the tenth turned against them without batting an eyelid and began to organize the landing of MARIASSALTO's former companions in northern Italy and once united together to attack the Germans and Mussolini himself. these men would not have hesitated for a single moment to hang Mussolini if he had surrendered portions of their beloved homeland. nothing but fascists. after the end of the war, the men of MARIASSALTO were included in a new division, which today is called COMSUBIN and are the special forces of the Italian navy
Drach: I bought this book on your suggestion and loved it. I ended up reading it entirely during the course a drive for a move. it was helpful to ignore, to some extent, the uncertainties that any move entails whilst transporting myself (In a manner of speaking), to the deck of a warship in battle, even if it was just a speeding MBT making a run at Kronstadt or a Pig sneaking up on the battleships in Alexandria.
It's great to hear it read again, or perhaps hear from it again.
Just as I'm about to set out on a bike ride, Drach releases a new vid, nice
I hope you can do more videos about the Italian navy, they really are over looked
Yay! Storytime with Drach! These are my favorite!!! :D
I remember the movie The Silent Enemy with Laurence Harvey as Lionel Crabb. Great movie, don't really know how much Hollywood is in it, but is based on the actions around Gibraltar.
I have a copy of it. Liberties were taken with some of the facts, including what put an end to the attacks. It is a British film.
The Avant Garde of the Under Water …. Proves how much trouble a small group of brave men doing the unexpected in new ways really can be …. Thanks for this great story …!
Thank you, Drachinifel.
YEAHHH MY BOY DRACH HAS ANOTHER SPONSOR!! hahaha, i love your content and channel so much that i can’t help but get stoked to watch it grow. You put so much work into this channel that its honestly inspiring and that effort shines through in the quality. Keep up the good shit, my dude!!
I know war is a brutal and horrible thing, and how brings out the worst in people, but it brings out the best too. I didn't know about Morgan presenting the medal, such actions and such respect for them warms my heart.
Amazing bravery and determination. Inspiring, even though enemies at the time.
1958 film about the Italian frogmen vs the British at Gibralter _The Silent Enemy_
Good movie, great poster.
Excellent video with a very amusing narration ! If you want to actually see ( and sneakily climb onto ) a " Pig ", there is one on display in a park in the Town of Taormina, Sicily. Or at least it was in 1992 when I was there.
Some very very brave men. You'd never get me on a submarine!!! Amazing what people can do in times like those.
They also made it into J. E. MacDonnells pulp naval fiction, two of his novels feature scenes based on the Alexandria attack which end up with the crew of an Australian destroyer sending down a diver to make sure nothing untoward is attached to their ship only to find a dead Italian frogman wrapped around the propellor shaft...
Try Len Deighton's Horse Under Water !
Brave men. Respect
My apologies for my tardiness Admiral, Sir.
Family medical emergency you see Sir.
Love the readings from this book, you're THE man for this job in my view!
I throughly enjoy your story telling such as these kinds of videos! Keep it up!
Wow drach. 260k subs. I’m so proud to have been an early subscriber! You’ve done so well. I’m Patreon-ing this week.
Great episode and superb presentation. And also rests to be said that most of these missions can be played in the tabletop By Stealth and Sea game ( by David Thomson and Nicola Sagini ).
Last time I was this late the Brits hadn't found out about the sunk ship base in Gibraltar
Saw an old Hollywood movie with those pig boats but never really thought or knew it was so real
I think it is one of the finest acts of chivalry to be rewarded a medal for outstanding bravery by your [former] enemy.
An excellent video for which I'd reward you with the Ritterkreuz on the spot - if only I had one ...
What a fantastic story.
I remember owning a book that described these events from the point of view of Junio Valerio Borghese and him as the commander of submarine Scire. The first ever military-esque book I have read, and what is responsible for conditioning a 12 year old me into the nerd of military history I am now. I wish I had the book still, lost to time (and at the time my rebellious siblings)
EDIT: at 11:45 the picture belongs to Borghese, not Pedretti
Japanese: We attacked the enemy naval base with a massive naval air strike. British: We attacked the enemy naval base with a minor naval air strike. Italians: We attacked the enemy naval base with a team of divers. It’s the bronze medal for us.
I stared at the thumbnail image for entirely too long before realizing I was _not_ looking at an old-timey diver playing with a porpoise.
Been waiting so long for this!
a number of fascinating stories
Feels like X-Mas... Oh, wait :)
I see what you did here
beat me to it
What an interesting documentary! You definitely don't see very often documentaries of such a good quality as this on TV, and I wonder why?
Man that was crazy
My father was aboard either Valiant or Queen Elizabeth (not sure which) when this happened. Although he was always reticent about speaking about his war time service he did tell us about this event. He claims he was asleep at the time on a table and rolled off, his legs up to his knees in water…?
He also served aboard HMS Kipling during the battle of Crete when they picked up Lord Mountbatten and other survivors from HMS Kelly and Kashmir after they were sunk…. An excellent topic for another video mr D..??
I wish I had had the opportunity to take down his WW2 and Korea service but being niave and him not wanting to talk about it meant it never happened.
Brilliant Video
Looking forward to this on the way home
Thanks for an interesting video. When I was a boy I had a toy "pig" powered by an elastic band used mainly as a bath toy. A lot less deadly than the real thing.
Top touch at the finale of this epic *
Really great Video. Thank you!
Any chance of uploading your episodes on Spotify?
Macchi, pronounced 'Mack-ee'. Great video, as usual.
Actually, "Muck-ee".
More excellent work, Drach.
19:16 Ouch! 30.000 tons of shipping sunk (including tankers). The British must have felt that.
Brilliant Work :) Thank You
This story amazes me everytime i hear it.... very clever...im surprised u didnt mention the ship they had with the secret hole they used to let the frogmen enter, and exit with the pigs in order to bomb ships
I haven't been this early before. (semaphores a signal to the Kamchatka)
Thank god that you got the limitation on Oxygen breathing correct.
I can't find pictures anywhere of the good luck charm dog. I consider this a great historical tragedy.
Wait... the captain of the Valiant rewarded the medal to the ones who bombed his ship?!
Oh my god that has me in hysterics. Oh, ye crazy Brits'; hope you never change.
The two Italian frogmen warned him to have all sailors leave the ship before the detonation of the bomb. This saved a lot of lives!
In WW II the American OSS, in its Maritime Unit, developed a highly effective rebreather, which left no trail of bubbles.
Jacques Cousteau, during the war an officer in the French Navy, was developing the aqua-lung, which gave off a bubble trail.
Just as I was sitting down to build some necron immortals
I'm into 40k for the books. I admire people with the skill and patience to paint the minis.
@@CSSVirginia sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it isn’t. Necrons are great for me, same with Orks, but Space marines can be a pain