stop was at the Military Museum to view the medals and orders, cannons, swords and suits of armor on display. The fagade of this one time palace is breathtaking in its masonry and woodworking artistry (Figure 12). The Portuguese Society members toured the museum with each group to translate and explain the exhibits (Figure 13) as well as to help all society members with their needs and questions. Figure 13: An exhibit in the Military Museutn. Lunch was an elegant affair at the Army Officers’ Club overlooking the Lisbon flea market and Tagus River (Figure 14). The meal was a sumptuous affair that required a walk in the flea market. Once again, the Portuguese Phaleristics Society outdid itself. The afternoon was free for fellow collectors to scour the flea market and visit shops, which of course, everyone did. At 8:30pm a bus once again arrived at the hotel to take the members and spouses of all the societies to the formal banquet which was held at the Navy Officers’ Club in the town of Cascais (Figure 15). The Navy Officers’ Club is housed in a former palace on the waterfront. This setting on the Atlantic Ocean and Tagus River under a full moon was quite memorable, as was the formal steak dinner and all accompanying courses. Dr. Humberto de Oliveira opened the festivities by welcoming all of the gathered societies, and between the main course and dessert, each nation’s society’s representative was asked to say a few words. There was an exchange of tokens of appreciation from the gathered societies to the Portuguese society, some of which were quite humorous. Dr. de Oliveira presented each chapter with the Portuguese Academy’s journal that contained many excellent articles and illustrations in Portuguese with summaries in French and English at the end of the journal. Figure 15: The formal banquet at the Navy Officers’ Club in the town of Cascais. Figure 14: The Lisbon flea market as seen front the Army Officers’ Club. Sunday, October 24, the last day of the conference, began with a meeting of all the European societies. It was agreed that the next European Societies’ meeting would be held in Copenhagen in May, 2011. It was also agreed that all societies would work together to create a common European Web Ring. The meeting was adjourned and members then visited the National Coaches’ Museum to view the opulent coaches and decorations of the kings. An unplanned quick stop was made at the National Palace da Ajuda to view yet more orders and decorations. After lunch, society members returned to the hotel for the farewell speech and social. Vol. 62, No. 3 (May-June 2011) 23
Transcript
stop was at the Military Museum to view the medals and orders, cannons, swords and suits of armor on display. The fagade of this one time palace is breathtaking in its masonry and woodworking artistry (Figure 12). The Portuguese Society members toured the museum with each group to translate and explain the exhibits (Figure 13) as well as to help all society members with their needs and questions.
Figure 13: An exhibit in the Military Museutn.
Lunch was an elegant affair at the Army Officers’ Club overlooking the Lisbon flea market and Tagus River (Figure 14). The meal was a sumptuous affair that required a walk in the flea market. Once again,
the Portuguese Phaleristics Society outdid itself. The afternoon was free for fellow collectors to scour the flea market and visit shops, which of course, everyone did. At 8:30pm a bus once again arrived at the hotel to take the members and spouses of all the societies to the formal banquet which was held at the Navy Officers’ Club in the town of Cascais (Figure 15). The Navy Officers’ Club is housed in a former palace on the waterfront. This setting on the Atlantic Ocean and Tagus River under a full moon was quite memorable, as was the formal steak dinner and all accompanying courses. Dr. Humberto de Oliveira opened the festivities by welcoming all of the gathered societies, and between the main course and dessert, each nation’s society’s representative was asked to say a few words. There was an exchange of tokens of appreciation from the gathered societies to the Portuguese society, some of which were quite humorous. Dr. de Oliveira presented each chapter with the Portuguese Academy’s journal that contained many excellent articles and illustrations in Portuguese with summaries in French and English at the end of the journal.
Figure 15: The formal banquet at the Navy Officers’ Club in the
town of Cascais.
Figure 14: The Lisbon flea market as seen front the Army Officers’ Club.
Sunday, October 24, the last day of the conference, began with a meeting of all the European societies. It was agreed that the next European Societies’ meeting would be held in Copenhagen in May, 2011. It was also agreed that all societies would work together to create a common European Web Ring. The meeting was adjourned and members then visited the National Coaches’ Museum to view the opulent coaches and decorations of the kings. An unplanned quick stop was made at the National Palace da Ajuda to view yet more orders and decorations. After lunch, society members returned to the hotel for the farewell speech and social.
Vol. 62, No. 3 (May-June 2011) 23
DECIMA FLOTTIGLIA MAS
Edward J. Emering
Introduction
It is impossible to write an article on the Decima Flottiglia Mas (Motoscafo Anti-Sommergibile) and not include the story of the infamous Black Prince, Junio Valerio Scipione Borghese (1906 - 1974). The Decima FlottigIia
Mas~ (10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla) or Xa MAS was the Italian Navy’s Special Forces unit prior to the September 8, 1943 Armistice.They were world famous commando "fi’ogmen" who swam undelvcater in order to attach mines to the hulls of enemy ships. Following the Armistice, the Xa MAS was greatly expanded by the Italian Social Republic (RSI) and their mission was significantly altered to focus on anti-partisan activities.
Unit Origins
During World War I, on November 1, 1918, Lieutenant Raffaele Paolucci, a naval surgeon of the Regia Marina2, and Army Major Raffaele Rossetti rode a two-man torpedo3 into the harbor at Pula, Croatia. Launched from the fast torpedo boat, MAS 95, they were able to sink the Austro-Hungarian/Croatian battleship SMS Viribus Unitis using Mignatta (Leech) limpet mines. They had no underwater breathing apparatus and were forced to keep their heads above water in order to breathe. They were discovered and taken prisoner by the crew of the SMS Viribus Unitis as they attempted to escape from the harbor. They were subsequently freed by the Italian Army on November 5, 1918 and were awarded Gold Medals of Valor for their action.
The development of early Scuba diving apparatus led directly to the establishment of the Regia Marina’s Special Forces Underwater Frogman Unit, later copied by the British Royal Navy and United States Navy. Capitano di Fregata Paolo Aloisi was the first commander of the la Flottiglia Mezzi d’AssaIto (First Assault Vehicle Flotilla), formed in 1939, as a result of the research and development efforts by Majors Teseo Tesei and Elios Toschi of the Italian Naval Combat Engineers.
In 1941, Commander Vittorio Moccagatta reorganized the First Flotilla into the Decima Flottiglia MAS, and further divided the unit into two parts: (1) a surface group operating explosive-equipped speed boats and (2) a subsurface weapons group using manned torpedoes called SLC (Siluri a Lenta Corsa or slow-running torpedoes, codenamed Maiale, but known as a "Pig" or "Chariot"
by the crews). This manned torpedo was equipped with diving planes, ballast tanks, and compressed air for the release of ballast, allowing for full underwater navigation, just like a miniature submarine. Commander Moccagatta incorporated Gamma Assault Swilnmers (Nuotatori) trained in attaching limpet mines to the hulls of enemy ships. He also created a frogman training school at the San Leopoldo Base at the Italian Naval Academy in Livorno.
Prince Borghese
Prince Junio Valerio Scipione Borghese was born in Rome into the wealthy Borghese family4 and educated first in London and Lisbon, then from 1923 at the Royal Italian Navy Academy (Accademia Navale) in Livorno. He began his naval career in 1929. By 1933, he was appointed a submarine commander. He took part in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935-1936) and during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was in conamand of the Italian submarine h’ide.~
At the start of the Second World War, Borghese took command of submarine VettorPisani, and inAugust 1940 command of the 620-ton, Serie-Adua class submarine Scire, which was part of the 1st Flotilla MAS. The Scire had been modified to CaxTy the new secret Italian weapon, the human torpedo (SLC). These were actually slnall underwater assault vehicles with a crew of two.
On March 15, 1941, the flotilla was split to form the
Decima Flottiglia Mas or Xa MAS (The 10th Flotilla
MAS). In September 1941, Borghese managed to enter
Gibraltar Harbor and launch the human torpedoes during
a raid which damaged three ships. On December 18,
1941, he reached Alexandria and launched three SLCs
that damaged the Royal Navy battleships HMS Valiant
and HMS Queen Elizabeth and the tanker Sagona. The
Scire is one of only three Italian submarines to be awarded
the Gold Medal of Military Valor. Captain Borghese was
also awarded the Victor Emmanuel III version of the Gold
Medal of Military Valor by Royal Decree, dated January
2, 1941, following the successful action at the Egyptian
Port of Alexandria. Borghese ultimately relinquished
command of the Scire to Lieutenant Commader Bruno
Zelich (also listed as Zelick). The submarine was later
lost outside the Port of Haifa on August 10, 1942.
In 1942, Borghese took command of the elite Decima Flottiglia Mas, which included surface assault craft,
24 JOMSA
human torpedoes, midget submarines and Scuba assault swimmers. The unit saw active service in the Mediterranean and pioneered new techniques of naval commando assault warfare. It also planned, but never executed, an attack on New York harbor. Under Borghese’s command the unit enjoyed numerous successes in Alexandria, Gibraltar, and Algiers to name a few. As their successes mounted, so did their fame and they became the most popular Italian military unit during the war.
During the three-year period 1940 to 1943, the unit destroyed 72,190 tons of Allied warships and 130,572 tons of Allied merchant ships. In addition to the Royal Navy battleships previously mentioned, the unit sank the heavy cruiser HMS York, the destroyers HMS Jervis and HMS Eridge and 20 merchant ships. The latter included various supply ships and tankers.
The Xa MAS Medals of Valor
Figure 1: Obverse of the Golden Medal of
Military Valor.
During the course of the war, the Decima Flottiglia Mas unit, itself, was awarded the Golden Medal of Military Valor6 and individual members were awarded a total of 31 Golden Medals of Military Valor, 104 Silver Medals of Military of Valor and 33 Bronze Medals of Military Valor. The rare Gold Medal of Valor awarded during World War II by Victor Emmanuel II was created in 1918 and features the House of Savoy coat-of-arms surmounted by a Savoy crown and framed by laurel branches knotted at the bottom by a ribbon (Figure 1). The official version made by the Italian mint contains a crowned Z (Zetta
Coronata) below the ribbon at the base of the branches. In some cases, the awards were privately manufactured and lack the crowned Z. There are also various non-gold copies. The reverse also features a frame of laurel leaves knotted at the base by a ribbon with room at the center for the name of the recipient and the place and date of
Figure 2: Reverse of the Golden Medal of
Military Valog
the action (Figure 2). The medal is suspended from a solid blue ribbon.
Decima Flottiglia Mas winners of the Gold Medal (in addition to Prince Borghese) include:
Emilio Bianchi Angelo Cabrini Luigi Durand de la Penne Roberto Frassetto Gerolamo Manisco Vincenzo Martellotta Tullio Tedeschi Lino Beccati Ettore Bisagno Aristide Carabelli Luigi Faggioni Giorgio Giobbe Antonio Marceglia Vittorio Moccagatta Teseo Tesei
Gino Birindelli Nicola Conte Bruno Falcomatit Emilio Legnani Evelino Marcolini Alcide Pedretti Guido Vincon Fernando Berardini Carlo Bosio Alessio De Vito Luigi Ferraro Giovanni Magro Mario Marino Spartaco Schergat Licio Visintini
The Armistice of 1943
Following the Armistice between the Italian and Allied Forces on September 8, 1943, the bulk of the Italian Navy appears to have attempted to go south. The sinking of the Italian battleship Roma by German bombers using new guided rocket bombs and the death of Admiral Carlo Bergamini7 along with 1,253 crew members have clouded this issue historically. Borghese meanwhile elected to remain with the German puppet government of the Italian Social Republic (RSI). He began gathering loyal members of the Decima at the La Spezia barracks. The reputation of the Xa MAS and that of Captain Borghese enabled him to negotiate an agreement with the German forces that gave the Xa MAS significant autonomy, allowing them to fight under an Italian flag (under the ultimate command of the Germans) and (for the short term) not to be employed
