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 during World War II.
Early life and education
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.
Career
Tesei had several posts on both surface ships and submarines. He was a volunteer in the
Spanish Civil War with the rank of captain.
In 1929, Tesei had the idea for the
manned torpedo, from the Italian device used to sink the Austrian battleship
SMS Viribus Unitis during
World War I.
In 1931 he entered the
Naval Academy of
Livorno, 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. The British later developed their own manned torpedo model, called "Chariot", from one of his captured "Maiali". In 1936, with
Angelo Belloni he designed the high-performance
closed-circuit self-contained breathing apparatus that was used by the Italian underwater raiders during their WWII operations, and that heavily influenced the following German and British wartime rebreathers design. In 1938 he was one of the officers who organized the
Decima Flottiglia MAS underwater raiders unit of the Italian Navy. On 21 August 1940, Tesei was the only survivor when the Italian submarine
Iridewas sunk.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Teseo Tesei.
Greene, Jack The Black Prince and the Sea Devils: The Story of
Valerio Borghese and the Elite Units of the Decima Mas. Da Capo Press. Cambridge/Mass., 2004
ISBN0-306-81311-4
Schofield, William. Frogmen First Battles. New York, 2000
ISBN0-8283-2088-8
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 during World War II.
Early life and education
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.
Career
Tesei had several posts on both surface ships and submarines. He was a volunteer in the
Spanish Civil War with the rank of captain.
In 1929, Tesei had the idea for the
manned torpedo, from the Italian device used to sink the Austrian battleship
SMS Viribus Unitis during
World War I.
In 1931 he entered the
Naval Academy of
Livorno, 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. The British later developed their own manned torpedo model, called "Chariot", from one of his captured "Maiali". In 1936, with
Angelo Belloni he designed the high-performance
closed-circuit self-contained breathing apparatus that was used by the Italian underwater raiders during their WWII operations, and that heavily influenced the following German and British wartime rebreathers design. In 1938 he was one of the officers who organized the
Decima Flottiglia MAS underwater raiders unit of the Italian Navy. On 21 August 1940, Tesei was the only survivor when the Italian submarine
Iridewas sunk.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Teseo Tesei.
Greene, Jack The Black Prince and the Sea Devils: The Story of
Valerio Borghese and the Elite Units of the Decima Mas. Da Capo Press. Cambridge/Mass., 2004
ISBN0-306-81311-4
Schofield, William. Frogmen First Battles. New York, 2000
ISBN0-8283-2088-8