Explosive vessel MT
 The explosive device MT
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The explosive vessel MT (MT = Motoscafo Turismo) was the first explosive vessel of the Italian Navy to be produced in small series , which was based on its predecessors, the prototype explosive vessel MA and explosive vessel MAT . At the end of September 1938, the naval command asked for six such explosive boats to be built. The order was placed the following month with the experienced companies Baglietto (boat hull) in Varazze and CABI in Milan , which were supposed to deliver the engines again.
Delivery and test trials
However, the delivery of the six boats did not take place until the spring of 1939, after which test trials in the waters off La Spezia began. The explosive device MT revealed some weaknesses. The deck of the small boat was covered with canvas tarpaulin, which proved to be permeable to water on long journeys; the hull was also leaking. The naval management demanded immediate correction of the weaknesses, demanded a solid wooden deck and a side elevation to 0.9 m (but later it was 1.10 m) and sent the boats or machine parts back to the manufacturers for revision so that they could implement the requirements . In March 1939, the naval command ordered a further twelve explosive devices. This increased the number of boats to 18.
Establishment of the first Italian explosives flotilla
The operational readiness of the 18 explosive vessels was not realized until the end of 1940, delayed due to production. That was six months after Italy entered the Second World War on the side of the German Empire . However, further extensive test drives before the official installation had shown again that the explosive device was only partially suitable for its missions. Therefore, the planning and construction of a successor model, the MTM explosive device , began.
Specifications
The specifications of the explosive boat MT are nearly identical with the explosive boat MA or MAT The boot body which is made of wood, of the machine parts his application in the bow area, a 330 kg heavy explosive charge out was after the arrival of the final assembly by Marine members and received, next, Trioliltal . The control station of the explosive vessel was again located in the stern area in order to ensure even weight distribution between the explosive charge (bow), pilot and machine (stern). In front of the pilot, all the operating and control instruments of the explosive device were also housed. In addition, the pilot had a magnetic compass and paddles, which should allow a noiseless stalking of the enemy.
Intended use
War effort
Immediately after the establishment of the first explosives boat flotilla, it was relocated to the Aegean Sea at the end of 1940 , where it was baptized by fire on March 26, 1941. The British naval units stationed there recognized the enemy in time, but were too confused and shocked at the same time about these new weapons to take effective defensive measures. Two explosive boats damaged the heavy cruiser HMS York so that it was no longer operational. Its final sinking took place a few days later by German dive combat pilots. The Norwegian tanker Pericles , which was sunk, also fell victim to the Italian explosives that night . The Italian naval command was equally surprised by their success.
On July 26, 1941, the second attack by explosive vessels MT, which affected the port of Valletta ( Malta ). In the Operazione Malta Due nine explosive devices were involved, which were brought to the port by speedboats in order to cause the greatest possible damage in this. The Italians did not know that their arrival and gathering in front of the port entrance was located by innovative radar devices hours before the actual attack. Although two explosive vessels managed to blow up an important bridge arch by ramming, the remaining explosive vessels were destroyed by the targeted use of artillery and aircraft. The Italian naval command then withdrew the explosives from such offensive operations and increasingly used them for coastal defense.
Whereabouts
The whereabouts of the total of 18 built explosive vessels MT is as follows:
- 6 lost in the successful attack on Souda Bay in Crete on March 25, 1941
- 2 lost in the canceled Operazione Malta on June 27 and 29, 1941
- 9 lost in the failed Operazione Malta Due on July 26, 1941, one of them (MT 16) recovered by the Royal Navy and transferred to Great Britain in September 1941
- 1 lost on unknown occasion, presumably before July 1941
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 , pp. 110-111.
- ↑ cf. Joseph Caruana, The Battle of Grand Harbor. July 26, 1941, St. Julians 2004, p. 47.
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