Licio Visintini (12 February 1915 – 8 December 1942) was an Italian naval officer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Visintini was decorated for his operations against Allied shipping in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

during the Battle of the Mediterranean. His brother

Mario Visintini Mario Visintini, MOVM, (26 April 1913 – 11 February 1941) was an Italian military pilot, the first Regia Aeronautica flying ace of World War II. In recognition of his flying skill and meticulousness, Visintini was nicknamed ''cacciatore scientif ...

was a famous

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

; both were killed during the war.

Biography

Visintini joined the

Italian Naval Academy The Italian Naval Academy (Italian: ''Accademia Navale'') is a coeducational military university in Livorno, which is responsible for the technical training of military officers of the Italian Navy. History The Hospitals The Hospital of St. James ...

in Livorno in 1933, and received his appointment as

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in 1937. Initially assigned on surface ships, he participated in missions during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

; he then served on the submarines ''Narvalo'' and then on ''Atropo''. While on the latter, in April 1939, he participated in the operations for the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

.Licio Visintini on the website of the Italian Navy.
/ref> On 10 June 1940, when Italy entered

, Visintini was serving on the submarine ''Torelli'', and participated in its first mission in the Atlantic Ocean. On his return, he asked to be assigned to the Tenth MAS Flotilla in La Spezia, where he became assault craft operator. In 1941 he was promoted to Lieutenant and was given command of the "Ursa Major squadron", deployed against the British naval base at

. In the night between 25 and 26 May 1941, Visintini led a first attack on Gibraltar with three SLC

manned torpedo Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use. ...

es released from the submarine ''Scirè'' (operation "B.G.3"); the raiders managed to enter the harbor, but the operation failed due to a combination of mechanical breakdowns suffered by the SLCs and sudden illnesses that seized two of the operators (moreover, Force H, the objective of the attack, had sailed just a few hours before).Giorgio Giorgerini, ''Attacco dal mare. Storia dei mezzi d'assalto della Marina italiana'', pp. from 188 to 190. Visintini and his companions had to swim to the shore, then they returned to Italy with the help of agents from the Italian Navy

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

service. In the night between 19 and 20 September 1941, Visintini led another attack against Gibraltar (operation "B.G.4"), again with the use of three SLC released by the ''Scirè''. This time, the operation resulted in a success: Visintini and his partner Giovanni Magro mined and damaged the naval tanker RFA ''Denbydale'' (of 17,200 tons of

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

), which remained afloat but was considered a

constructive total loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

because of the severity of the damage (it was reduced to a floating fuel depot until its demolition), while the other two SLCs sank the tanker ''Fiona Shell'' and severely damaged the armed merchant ''Durham''. The operators then destroyed the SLCs and swam to the coast, where they were again assisted by Italian agents who helped them to return to Italy. In the summer of 1942, when it was decided to stop using submarines for the approach of SLCs to the port of Gibraltar, instead resorting to turn the steamer '' Olterra'', interned in

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

, into a secret floating base for SLCs, Visintini was tasked with directing the transformation, as well as being given command of the SLC group that would operate from the ship.Giorgio Giorgerini, ''Attacco dal mare. Storia dei mezzi d'assalto della Marina italiana'', p. 237. At 23:15 on 7 December 1942, Visintini left ''Olterra'' for operation "B.G.5", and steered his manned torpedo towards the port of Gibraltar, with the aim of mining the battleship HMS ''Nelson''. He and his partner, Leading Seaman Giovanni Magro, managed to overcome the external obstructions and to enter the harbor, but were both killed by the depth charges thrown by British surveillance to ward off Italian raiders. Visintini and Magro were both awarded a posthumous

Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

. Their bodies were recovered by the British and buried with full military honours. The Marina Militare named a De Cristofaro-class corvette, ''F 546'', after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visintini, Licio 1915 births 1942 deaths Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Regia Marina personnel of World War II Italian military personnel killed in World War II