Boat Assault on Royal Navy ships in Crete
The Raid on Souda Bay was an attack by the (X-MAS), a specialist unit of the that used unconventional weapons. MAS used explosive boats (MTM) against British ships lying in Souda Bay, Crete, during the early hours of 26 March 1941. The MTM explosive boats had been ferried from Astypalaia by the destroyers and and launched at the approaches to the bay. After crossing the three boom defences, the MTM attacked the British heavy cruiser and the Norwegian tanker ( GRT).
Two MTM hit "York", which took on a list and was towed by the destroyer and beached; "Pericles" was sunk in shallow waters. Most of its oil was recovered and the ship eventually was to be refloated, only to founder on tow to Alexandria, breaking up and being sunk by gunfire. The six MTM pilots, Luigi Faggioni, Alessio de Vito, Emilio Barberi, Angelo Cabrini, Tullio Tedeschi and Lino Beccati were taken prisoner and were later awarded the Italian Gold Medal of Military Valor (). A MTM was recovered undamaged by the British and studied.
Background.
The interest of the in small boat warfare lay dormant between 1918 and the diplomatic crisis with Britain over the Second Italo-Ethiopian War 1935–1936. In 1935 and early 1936, Captain Teseo Tesei and Captain Elios Toschi tested a human torpedo in La Spezia on the Tyrrhenian Sea and resumed testing in May. The Ethiopian defeat in 1936 ended the tests but work on assault boats continued. On 28 September 1938, ordered the I (1st Torpedo Motorboat Flotilla), based at La Spezia, to establish a research department (the (Special Weapons Section) from 1939. The detachment had a few officers at HQ, seven at a confidential base at Bocca di Serchio for human torpedo and frogman training and another six officers to pilot the assault motorboats, of which seven had been built, plus eleven human torpedoes.
On 24 February 1940, the 1st MAS Flotilla and the Special Weapons Section was taken over by Commander Mario Giorgini and in August attempts to use the unconventional weapons began, with little success and the capture of Giorgini in October. On 23 January 1941 Commander Vittorio Moccagatta replaced Giorgini and on 15 March formed the (10th Flotilla, Torpedo Armed Motorboats, ). The new force had a HQ, including a plans office and a weapons section. The surface assault boats and the training school (Lieutenant-Commander Giorgio Giobbe) were split from the human torpedoes and other underwater weapons (Lieutenant-Commander Junio Valerio Borghese) , captain of the . remained at La Spezia and an advanced base was set up in Augusta, Sicily.
equipment.
(SLC).
The (SLC, slow speed torpedo), known as a Maiale (pig), was designed by Tesei and Toschi in 1935 and 1936. By late 1939 about eleven were ready and in July 1940 the production version, Series 100, began to arrive. In 1941 the improved Series 200 became ready for use. The standard torpedo with double propellers was changed to one larger propeller in a cowling; seats for a two-man crew were installed, with shields housing the controls. The SLC weighed and was long. The electric motor moved the at at a maximum depth of . At the target the crew detached a -long warhead with of explosive, detonated by a timer. The crews the Gamma frogmen wore Belloni rubberised suits with a closed-circuit re-breathing apparatus to avoid bubbles. The Gamma frogmen carried explosive charges, five (bedbugs) or two , (little trunks) and attached them to a ship's hull, with a timed detonation.
(MTL).
 and SLCs needed transport close to the target because the re-breather lasted no more than six hours and had a range of only at full speed and a maximum of at cruising speed. The modified destroyers and , had carried the MTM used in the successful Raid on Souda Bay (25/26 March 1941). The (MTL, slow transport motorboat) was a wooden-hulled boat long by wide, to carry close to the target. The MTL had a range of only cruising at , few were built and they were rarely used. Surface transport gave way to submarines; early in 1940 the began tests as a transport. The maximum depth of submersion was only ; was converted in July 1940 but was sunk on 21 August. was sunk on 30 September, even though the three cylinders could be flooded, allowing the boat to reach a depth of .
(MT/MTM).
The first (MT) became known as (little boats) were built in late 1938, six MT being delivered in early 1939. An improved version (MTM) tested in November 1940, was long. Both types carried an explosive charge of in the bows at up to . The MTM was fitted with a seat back/life raft behind the pilot for him to float on after dropping off the MTM, while waiting to be rescued. Twelve MTs were built and about forty MTMs. Early in 1941, a smaller was built with a height of to fit inside the deck cylinders of submarines with the same explosive charge but they were never used in this manner.
(MTS).
The (MTS, torpedo motorboat), was a small boat carrying one or two modified torpedoes, the MTS being more manoeuvrable than the usual . The first MTS, of early 1941, could reach with a range of . The was assisted by MAS boats, which by June
1940, had fifty Class 500 MAS and another 25 in 1941 in four versions. The Class 500 was long by wide at the beam, with a displacement of . The MAS had a crew of 9 to 13 men and had two torpedoes, 6–10 depth charges and a heavy machine-gun (replaced in 1941 with a Breda 20 mm cannon). The MAS could move at and had a range of .
Souda Bay.
Souda Bay (Suda Bay to the British) is a naturally protected harbour on the north-western coast of the island of Crete, about long with a depth of at the mouth, increasing to further inside. The bay had been chosen as a target by the X-MAS months before, because it had become a busy anchorage for the refuelling of ships of the Royal Navy, tankers and other support ships. Recent air reconnaissance had spotted a number of naval and merchant ships at anchor.
Prelude.
On 24 March, aerial reconnaissance photographs showed a cruiser, two destroyers and twelve merchant ships at anchor in Souda Bay. Later information indicated one cruiser and eight merchant ships but by the time the operation, more ships had entered the bay. The heavy cruiser , the light cruiser , the anti-aircraft cruiser , the destroyer , (5,934 GRT) and (8,427 GRT) an RAF flying boat tender and the tankers (8,120 GRT), "Marie Mærsk" (8,271 GRT) and (8,324 GRT) were present. "York" had arrived with "Gloucester" from Operation MC 9, escorting Convoy MW 6 to Malta, at 14:00 on 25 March. On the night of 25/26 March 1941, "Crispi" and "Sella" departed from the island of Astypalaia, each carrying three MTM (), the six pilots led by (Lieutenant) Luigi Faggioni were Alessio de Vito, Emilio Barberi, Angelo Cabrini, Tullio Tedeschi and Lino Beccati. The destroyers were to release the MTM from the mouth of Souda Bay. At 23:30, the destroyers reached the launching point, quickly unloaded the MTM and turned for home.
Attack.
The MTMs made their way to the entrance of the bay where one MTM was obstructed by the net barrage but managed to get past and joined the rest of the formation near an islet in the mouth of the bay. At 04:30 on 26 March, Faggioni bypassed the inner net by going close to the shore and then moved along it, towards the centre of the bay, the MTM pilots using oars to move quietly. Faggioni called the boats together and resumed the advance towards the third net barrage, about away.
Two searchlights tuned on as the anti-aircraft cruiser "Coventry" entered the bay, causing the MTM crews to think that they had been discovered. The MTM then had to wait until there was enough natural light to attack. Faggioni briefed the pilots; two were to attack "York", about away; Faggioni and another MTM pilot waited in reserve in case the attack failed. The fifth and sixth MTM pilots made ready to attack the merchant ships. Soon after 05:00, as dawn was breaking, the first two MTMs moved to about from "York" and waited for another fifteen minutes for the sky to clear, then sped towards the cruiser, the pilots abandoning their MTM about from the ship. At 05:11 the officer of the watch on "York" heard the sound of an engine, mistook it for an aircraft and before he could raise the alarm the ship was hit.
An explosion occurred amidships on the starboard side, killing two members of the crew. The ship took on a list to starboard and settled by the stern. The two MTMs had exploded against "York" amidships. A hole had been blown in the side of the hull upwards from the bilge keel. The side plating upwards of the bilge keel for and for below the bilge keel had been severely damaged. A9 and 8B 9 boiler rooms and the forward engine rooms were immediately flooded, with slow flooding in the after engine room and compartments nearby. Steam, lighting and power was lost and the cruiser was immobilised. "York" was towed to the shore by "Hasty" and beached in of water. "Pericles" was severely damaged and settled on the bottom. The anti-aircraft guns of the base opened fire randomly, believing that the base was under air attack. The six pilots were captured, along with an intact MTM.
Aftermath.
Analysis.
Ian Playfair, the British official historian of the Mediterranean campaign, wrote in 1956 that the attack was the first of Italian unconventional operation and that took skill and bravery. The British official historian of the Royal Navy, Stephen Roskill, wrote in 1957 that the loss of "York" was the inevitable consequence of using a base that was not adequately defended. The poor defences there limited its use to that of an advanced fuelling station, forcing the Mediterranean Fleet to operate from Alexandria, to the south. In 2015, Greene and Massignani wrote that the sinking of "York" was the first success of the MTM which vindicated them as weapons.
The six pilots were captured and an MTM was recovered undamaged; while being inspected there was an explosion, wounding a British officer and damaging the vehicle. The Italians claimed hits that sank another tanker and "Pericles". The British reported that "York" and "Pericles" were grounded and the other MTM missed their targets, one being stranded on the beach. Anti-aircraft guns around the base opened fire under the impression that the base was under air attack. The six MTM pilots were awarded the .
Casualties.
Two British sailors were killed on "York". Faggioni, de Vito, Barberi, Cabrini, Tedeschi and Beccati were captured. The prisoners were well treated at first, Faggioni recalling that a British sailor said, "Good job, isn't it?" Later, Faggioni and his men were subjected to a mock firing squad, with an officer holding a black bandage in his hand. The prisoners were then taken back to prison.
Axis controversy.
The and the argued over the credit for the sinking of "York" but the matter was resolved by British records and by the "York" war log, recovered by Italian naval officers, who boarded the half-sunk cruiser after the capture of Crete. A message from Portal, the captain to his Chief Engineering Officer read,
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;Please take statements from all men who were in boiler and engine rooms when the ship was struck on the 26th, also from any men who can bear witness as to the R.A.s who were lost, being in the engine room. I would like you also to make rough notes now, while events are fresh in your mind, of sequence of damage reports and appreciations as time went on. Also a log of events since we started pumping out. R.P.
In 1957, the retired admiral, Marc' Antonio Bragadin, wrote that he had gone on board "York" during the occupation of Crete, before the Germans arrived and recovered records which showed that "York" had sunk before the "Luftwaffe" attacked the ship. Damage on the superstructure of the ship was caused by British demolition charges rather than by "Luftwaffe" bombs. In 2001, David Thomas attributed the loss of "York" to X-MAS