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Raid On Alexandria (1941)
The Raid on Alexandria was carried out on 19 December 1941 by Italian Navy divers of the Decima Flottiglia MAS, who attacked and disabled two Royal Navy battleships in the harbour of Alexandria, Egypt, using manned torpedoes. Background On 3 December, the submarine of the Italian Royal Navy (''Regia Marina'') under the command of lieutenant Junio Valerio Borghese left the naval base of La Spezia carrying three manned torpedoes, nicknamed ''maiali'' (pigs) by the Italians. At the island of Leros in the Aegean Sea, the submarine secretly picked up six crewmen for them: Luigi Durand de la Penne and Emilio Bianchi ( ''maiale'' nº 221), Vincenzo Martellotta and Mario Marino (''maiale'' nº 222), and Antonio Marceglia and Spartaco Schergat (''maiale'' nº 223). Raid On 19 December, ''Scirè''—at a depth of —released the manned torpedoes from Alexandria commercial harbour, and they entered the naval base when the British opened their defenses to let three of their destroyers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It began when the United States declared war on 18 June 1812 and, although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by Congress on 17 February 1815. Tensions originated in long-standing differences over territorial expansion in North America and British support for Native American tribes who opposed US colonial settlement in the Northwest Territory. These escalated in 1807 after the Royal Navy began enforcing tighter restrictions on American trade with France and press-ganged men they claimed as British subjects, even those with American citizenship certificates. Opinion in the US was split on how to respond, and although majorities in both the House and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leros
Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flight from Athens, and about 20 miles to Turkey. Leros is part of the Kalymnos regional unit. The island has been also called in it, Lero. This island has population of 7,988 Geography The municipality has an area of . The municipality includes the populated offshore island of Farmakonisi (pop. 10), as well as several uninhabited islets, including Levitha and Kinaros, and had a 2011 census population of 7,917, although this figure swells to over 15,000 during the summer peak. The island has a coastline of . It is known for its imposing medieval castle of the Knights of Saint John possibly built on a Byzantine fortress. Nearby islands are Patmos, Lipsi, Kalymnos, and the small islands of Agia Kyriaki and Farmakos. In ancient times it was c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Supremacy
Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals cannot attack it directly. This dominance may apply to its surrounding waters (i.e., the littoral) or may extend far into the oceans, meaning the country has a blue-water navy. It is the naval equivalent of air supremacy. With command of the sea, a country (or alliance) can ensure that its own military and merchant ships can move around at will, while its rivals are forced either to stay in port or to try to evade it. It also enables free use of amphibious operations that can expand ground-based strategic options. The British Royal Navy held command of the sea for most of the period between the 18th to the early 20th centuries, allowing Britain and its allies to trade and to move troops and supplies easily in wartime, while its enemies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Egypt
The Kingdom of Egypt ( ar, المملكة المصرية, Al-Mamlaka Al-Miṣreyya, The Egyptian Kingdom) was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan in 1953 following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Until the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, the Kingdom was only nominally independent, as the United Kingdom retained control of foreign relations, communications, the military, and Sudan. Officially, Sudan was governed as a condominium of the two states, however, in reality, true power in Sudan lay with the United Kingdom. Between 1936 and 1952, the United Kingdom continued to maintain its military presence, and its political advisers, at a reduced level. The legal status of Egypt had been highly convoluted, due to its ''de facto'' breakaway from the Ottoman Empire in 1805, its occupation by Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosetta
Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on site of the ancient town Bolbitine, Rosetta boomed with the decline of Alexandria following the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the 19th century, it was a popular British tourist destination, known for its Ottoman mansions, citrus groves and relative cleanliness. Etymology The name of the town most likely comes from an Arabic name '' Rašīd'' (meaning "guide") and was transcribed and corrupted in numerous ways – the name ''Rexi'' was used by the Crusaders in Middle Ages and ''Rosetta'' or ''Rosette'' ("little rose" in Italian and French respectively) was used by the French at the time of Napoleon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its Metropolitan France, metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin (island), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Repubblica
''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. Born as a leftist newspaper, it has since moderated to a milder centre-left political stance, and moved further to the centre after the appointment of Maurizio Molinari as editor. History Foundation ''la Repubblica'' was founded by Eugenio Scalfari, previously director of the weekly magazine ''L'Espresso''. The publisher Carlo Caracciolo and Mondadori had invested 2.3 billion lire (half each) and a break-even point was calculated at 150,000 copies. Scalfari invited a few trusted colleagues: Gianni Rocca, then Giorgio Bocca, Sandro Viola, Mario Pirani, Miriam Mafai, Barbara Spinelli, Natalia Aspesi and Giuseppe Turani. The cartoons were the prerogative of Giorgio Forattini until 1999. Early years The newspaper first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limpet Mine
A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets. It is so named because of its superficial similarity to the shape of the limpet, a type of sea snail that clings tightly to rocks or other hard surfaces. A swimmer or diver may attach the mine, which is usually designed with hollow compartments to give the mine just slight negative buoyancy, making it easier to handle underwater. Types of fuses Usually limpet mines are set off by a time fuse. They may also have an anti-handling device, making the mine explode if removed from the hull by enemy divers or by explosions. Sometimes limpet mines have been fitted with a small turbine which would detonate the mine after the ship had sailed a certain distance, so that it was likely to sink in navigable channels (to make access difficult for other ships) or deep water (out of reach of easy salvage) and making determination of the cause of the sinking more difficult. Development In December 1938, a new unit was cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spartaco Schergat
Spartaco Schergat (1920 in Koper – 1996 in Trieste) was an Italian military frogman during World War II. Biography Schergat was born in Istria to an Italian irredentist. He voluntarily joined the ''Regia Marina'' in 1940. He was friends with Luigi Durand de la Penne, who enrolled him in the elite Decima MAS (XMAS). In 1941, during the Raid on Alexandria, Schergat severely damaged the British battleship , with a human torpedo. For this military action he received the Italian gold medal in the Second World War. From 1943 until the end of the war, Schergat collaborated with the Allies, via the Royal Navy of the Badoglio government in southern Italy. In the 1950s, Schergat was elected as deputy of MSI, an Italian far right party. In 1996 Spartaco Schergat died, after a long struggle with cancer, in Trieste. The attack on ''Queen Elizabeth'' As part of a team of divers of the X MAS he took part in the human torpedo attacks on British vessels in the Mediterranean. In Dec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Marceglia
Antonio Marceglia (28 July 1915, Pirano – 13 July 1992, Venice) was a captain in the Naval Engineers during World War II. A municipal swimming pool at 245 via Sandro Gallo in Lido di Venezia is named after him. Life Marceglia incumbent in 1933 as an officer cadet in the naval engineers. In 1938, he graduated from the University of Genoa and became a Sottotenente. On 10 June 1940 (the day Italy declared war on the United Kingdom) he joined the submarine ''Ruggero Settimo'', in which he took part in three missions in the Mediterranean. In October that year he joined the ''Gruppo Mezzi d'Assalto'', and after spending his time training on the River Serchio, he took part in two missions against the Royal Navy base in Gibraltar on 26 May and 20 September 1941. He also joined the Raid on Alexandria on 19 December 1941, which seriously damaged the battleships ''Valiant'' and ''Queen Elizabeth'', the tanker ''Sagona'' and the destroyer ''Jervis''. Marceglia was captured during th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mario Marino
Mario Marino (27 March 1914 in Salerno – 11 May 1982 in Salerno) was an Italian sailor of the Regia Marina during World War Two. As a diver and human-torpedo operator with the Decima Flottiglia MAS, he won the Gold Medal of Military Valour for the Raid on Alexandria on 19 December 1941. A 97-ton submarine-support speedboat of the Italian Navy launched in 1984 is named after him. Life He volunteered for the navy in January 1934 and was assigned to the diving division, attending the Scuola C.R.E.M. at Varignano near La Spezia. At the end of the course he was assigned to the naval command at Gaeta. He then joined the destroyer ''Freccia'' and in 1936 the submarine ''H6'', attended the first diving course and took part in the first experiments in exiting a submerged submarine. At the end of the course he took part in the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the Spanish Civil War. In 1938 he took part in the Corso per Alti Fondali in deep-sea diving and on 4 June 1940 he joined the ''Ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
