Mario Marino (27 March 1914 in

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

– 11 May 1982 in Salerno) was an Italian sailor of 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 Two. As a diver and human-torpedo operator with 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'' ...

, he won the

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 ...

for the Raid on Alexandria on 19 December 1941. A 97-ton submarine-support speedboat of the

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

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 La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

. At the end of the course he was assigned to the naval command at

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

. 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 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 ...

. In 1938 he took part in the Corso per Alti Fondali in deep-sea diving and on 4 June 1940 he joined the ''Titano'' and the 1ª Flottiglia MAS as an assault-submarine operator, taking part in missions with the MAS. In May 1941 he rose to the non commissioned officer rank of 2º Capo Palombaro Sommozzatore and on the night of 25–26 July 1941 he took part in a raid on a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

base 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 ...

as second operator to

Vincenzo Martellotta Vincenzo Martellotta (1 January 1913, Taranto - 27 August 1973, Castelfranco Emilia) was an officer of the Italian Navy during World War II. The Istituto Comprensivo Martellotta school in Taranto is named after him, as is the Italian Navy auxiliar ...

. On the night of 18–19 December 1941 he was Martellotta's second operator again, this time on the ''SLC 222'', during the raid on Alexandria which severely damaged two battleships, a tanker and a destroyer. Marino and Martellotta were both captured after the action but Marino was released in October 1944 to join the Mariassalto fighting alongside the Allies. In 1949 Marino was promoted to Capo di 1ª Classe Palombaro and in 1962 he was put in command of the Gruppo S.D.A.I. at La Spezia at the rank of sottotenente, a post he held until he was shifted to the reserves in March 1977 at the rank of Capitano di Corvetta.

External links

*http://www.marina.difesa.it/storia/movm/Parte06/MOVM6081.asp *http://www.marina.difesa.it/storia/movm/Parte06/bio06/MOVM6081b.asp {{DEFAULTSORT:Marino, Mario 1914 births 1982 deaths People from Salerno Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Regia Marina personnel of World War II