Page 479 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

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aCta
would be a huge hole torn through the side of the enemy ship below the water line. Most
EMB’s were 19 feet long, held 660 pounds of internal explosives and could reach speeds in
excess of 27 knots
Those boats were used successfully by the Italian Navy during WW2. The boats idea
arises by Captain Giorgio Giorgis during the Ethiopian war in 1935. At that time it was a
threat from the British navy to interfere against Italy. The first development order for a pro-
totype was presented to the famous race-bout producer, Baglietto. Bat after preliminary tests
it was clear that the boat will not functioning without a special power-pack. The engineer
Cantieri Baglietto new from his experience that only one man can save the problem – Guido
Cattaneo (who cooperates with him during last 5 years in the race-boats field) and he ask him
to join the development phase. Very fast it was clear that the engine and the transmission are
the backbone of the project, so, Guido receives overall responsibility to realize the Explosive
Boat. At 15 June 1936 the first order from the Italian navy was received by Baglietto with
Guido Cattaneo as prime contractor and project manager with the condition that the boat has
to be feted by CABI-CATTANEO special “Z” configuration, Giustino’s invention power-
pack. It was a direct continuation of the innovative race boats, (Guido’s profession). The
13
M.T.M represented an evolution of a fast surface attack vessel first conceived in 1936 as the
M.A. (assault motorboat) and the M.A.T. (airborne assault motorboat) that the Duke of Aosta
has thoughts about attacking distant harbors, locating the MAT between the two floats of
the S-55 Flying-boat (powered by Giustino’s engine – sea above) . those same producers
14
(Cattaneo-Baglietto), in 1938-39, built two series of the new type M.T.; the first of 6 ves-
sels, and the second, slightly larger and with a larger motor of 95HP, of 12 vessels. This last
construction period, in 1940-42, for the development and building of the M.T.M. of which
about 50 were built. From the M.T.M. derived, in 1942-43, the M.T.R. and the M.T.R.M. of
which about 20 vessels were built, but only one entered service with the navy of the Repub-
lica Sociale italiana 15

the fOrMidable attacks against the british naVy in ww2

suda bay - 1941
The British Cruiser HMS York was badly damaged on 26 March 1941 by 2 Italian ex-
plosive motor boats in a dawn attack at Suda Bay, north Crete. The motorboats, each packed
with 300-kg (667 lb) charges in the bows, were piloted by MMI Lt. Cabrini and Tedeschi
impacted her amid ship, flooding both boiler rooms and one engine room, causing her to
settle on the bottom in shallow water.
The six attack units, some very light and extremely fast assault/blast boats, were launched
from the destroyers Crispi and Sella under the command of Lieutenant Luigi Faggioni (the
other men on the mission were: alessio de Vito, emilio Barberi, angelo Cabrini, tullio

13 Marco Spertini and Erminio Bagnasco, I Mezzi d’assalto della Xa Flottiglia MAS, 1940-1945, elmano ar-
betteli Editore, 1996, p.69.
14 J. Valerio Borghese, Sea Devils, London, 1952, p. 17.
15 Adapted from: “Imagini di Storia - Decima MAS: I mezzi d’assalto della Marina Italiana” - N7 Janury
1995