Teseo Tesei (3 January 1909 – 26 July 1941) was an Italian naval officer, who invented the human torpedo (called ''Maiale'', Italian for "pig") used by the ''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

'' during World War II.

Life

Teseo Tesei was born in Marina de Campo, Elba in 1909, the son of Ulisse Tesey and Rosa Carassale. After attending the ''Collegio degli Scolopi'' in Florence, he entered the Livorno Naval Academy in 1931, where he distinguished himself for perseverance and inventiveness. He was commissioned as a lieutenant and graduated from the Naval engineering school in Naples in 1933. He subsequently had several posts on both surface ships and submarines. He was a volunteer in 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, lin ...

with the rank of captain. *In 1929, Tesei had the idea for the

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. ...

, from the Italian device used to sink the Austrian battleship SMS ''Viribus Unitis'' during World War I. *In 1931 he entered the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, where he showed his inventive capabilities. Together with Elios Toschi he designed a human torpedo called ''Siluro a lenta corsa (SLC)'' ("Slow-Run Torpedo"), later nicknamed the ''Maiale'', Italian for "pig", because it proved to be difficult to steer. The SLC was extensively used in World War II by the Italian Navy, and was used in the sinking of two British battleships in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. The British later developed their own manned torpedo model, called "Chariot", from one of his captured "Maiali". *1936: Working with

Angelo Belloni Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name *Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church *Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Rom ...

he designed the high-performance closed-circuit self-contained breathing apparatus that was used by the italian underwater raiders during their WW2 operations, and that heavily influenced the following german and british wartime rebreathers design. *1938: He was one of the officers who organized the

Decima Flottiglia MAS The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...

underwater raiders unit of the Italian Navy. *21 August 1940: Tesei was the only survivor when the Italian submarine ''Iride'' was sunk (see Decima Flottiglia MAS#1940). *26 July 1941: Tesei died in action during a manned torpedo attack on

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

(see Decima Flottiglia MAS#1941), for which he was posthumously awarded the Italian

Gold Medal of Military Valour 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 ...

. The modern

Italian commando frogmen COMSUBIN (''Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori " Teseo Tesei"''; Divers and Raiders Group Command "Teseo Tesei") is the Italian Navy's special operations unit. Italy was the first nation to use frogmen and human torpedoes. The Roya ...

group Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei ed Incursori Teseo Tesei (COMSUBIN) is named after him.

References

*Historical Diving Times, pp 6–11, issue 39.

Bibliography

* Greene, Jack ''The Black Prince and the Sea Devils: The Story of

Valerio Borghese Junio Valerio Scipione Ghezzo Marcantonio Maria Borghese (6 June 1906 – 26 August 1974), nicknamed The Black Prince, was an Italian Navy commander during the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and a prominent hard-line Fasc ...

and the Elite Units of the Decima Mas''. Da Capo Press. Cambridge/Mass., 2004 * Schofield, William. ''Frogmen First Battles''. New York, 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tesei, Teseo 1909 births 1941 deaths Armed forces diving 20th-century Italian inventors Italian military personnel killed in World War II Italian underwater divers People from the Province of Livorno Regia Marina personnel of World War II History of scuba diving