Mignatta
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The Mignatta (dt. = Leech ) was the first manned torpedo type of Italian Navy , which in 1918 by Major Ing. Raffaele Rossetti in collaboration with Lieutenant Raffaele Paolucci was designed.
Development history
The Mignatta was a torpedo-like, non-submersible floating body, on the back of which two men in swimming suits sat in the rider's seat. They found hold on brackets welded on for this purpose. The military purpose of the Mignatta lay in unnoticed commando operations against sea targets of the Austro-Hungarian fleet in the Mediterranean area , as well as in attacks on their ports and roads . Due to the low speed of the vehicle, these should be carried out at night. The limited range, which was 8 to 10 nm, was countered by the Mignatta being brought to the operational area by a suitable boat and from there covering the last leg alone. Instead of the usual torpedo warhead, this was replaced by two explosive devices equipped with magnetic clips and time fuses, which together consisted of 170 kg Trotyl . The explosive charges could easily be removed from the bow and were then attached to the enemy ship's hull. After completing their work, the two pilots had the choice of returning to the waiting carrier boat with the torpedo or, if the batteries were too exhausted to enable a safe return, to go into captivity.
commitment
After several months of training, the first Mignatta went into its first and last deployment during the First World War . Brought to the Austrian occupied port of Pola by the torpedo boat 65 PN , the Mignatta crew sank the Austrian capital ship SMS Viribus Unitis (21,370 t) on the night of November 1, 1918 , which was the most modern Austria-Hungary at the time. The success was groundbreaking. For the first time in the history of modern seafaring, a battleship could be sunk using small maritime weapons. There were no further missions until the end of the war, but even so the combat value of the Mignatta was recognized.
According to the provisions of the Naval Conference in 1922, Italy, along with other states, was subject to strict requirements with regard to its naval units, so that the idea of further developing manned torpedoes was suspended until 1935. It was only at this point that the Italian Navy took up the concept again and developed the SLC on the basis of the Mignatta .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Harald Fock: Naval small weapons. Manned torpedoes, small submarines, small speedboats, explosives yesterday - today - tomorrow. Nikol, Hamburg 1996, ISBN 3-930656-34-5 , p. 20.
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