Approaching the Italian Navy Special Forces: Underwater Operation Commando (Figure)
Underwater weapon development: everything comes from poverty and weakness
During the two world wars, Italy was the only country in the world that could make amazing achievements in the field of maritime assault, and it still occupies a leading position in the world. In the history of the development of maritime assault equipment, the main reason why the Italian navy developed so-called new weapons during World War II was weakness and poverty, which is also the main reason why Italy never declared war on Britain, a naval power. Italy, with a weak navy, was forced to look for new weapons at that time, hoping to launch a surprise attack on Britain with a new weapon with low cost and strong production capacity and weaken its combat strength.
After the Italian navy frogman landed,
At that time, the engineering lieutenants Tesser and Toschi of the Italian navy submarine detachment were actively engaged in the research of this subject. On the basis of the "Rossidi" diving device, they developed a more perfect torpedo weapon, operated by two divers, secretly approaching the target and laying mines, and can return to the base smoothly after the task is completed. At the beginning of 1936, a few volunteers began to learn to operate controllable torpedoes, and later became the backbone of the newly formed 10 assault speedboat detachment. Almost at the same time, Air Force General De Osta decided to achieve the same goal in another way. He suggested that a small blasting boat be transported to the enemy fleet base by plane at the beginning of the war. After the helmsman was sure that the precise guidance was aimed at the target, he threw the blasting boat into the sea to make it run at high speed and rush to the enemy target.
In the following two years, the Italians successfully carried out experiments on controllable torpedoes and blasting ships, but this idea did not get the development it deserved. The main reason is that the change of the international situation at that time made Mussolini think that the war might be postponed, thus slowing down the development process. It was this decision that lost the opportunity and had an important impact on the operational application of new weapons.
1938, the Italian navy established 1 high-speed anti-submarine torpedo boat detachment, equipped with new assault equipment, and resumed the development of controllable torpedoes. 1940, 12 torpedo speedboat was built.
Development and use of attack and destruction equipment
During World War II, the Italian maritime assault and destruction forces were equipped with a CA-type subminiature submarine with a displacement of 12 tons, which could launch two torpedoes. After improvement, a CB submarine with a displacement of 30 tons was developed and operated by four crew members. In addition, it is equipped with SLC and SLB perfectly controllable torpedoes developed by Toschi and Tese. When the latter was equipped with troops, Italy was ready to withdraw from the war, so it could not be used for combat.
In order to transport controllable torpedoes to the combat area, the Italian navy specially modified some special submarines and assembled three controllable torpedo weapon transport cabins inside. The speedboat brigade is equipped with MTM and MTR assault torpedo boats with a speed of 32 knots. In addition, special ammunition "Chimiche" and "Bauletti" weighing 2 kg and 4.5 kg were specially developed for frogmen. Frogmen can carry five such ammunition on their belts when performing tasks.
Italian navy water commandos in action
"Chimiche" ammunition uses a timing fuse, while "Bauletti" has a more complicated blasting mechanism. Frogman fixed them at the bottom of the ship in the enemy port. The fuses of these bombs have spiral induction devices. When the mine ship reaches a certain sailing speed, the screw device starts to rotate and the fuze enters the working state. Some time later, the bomb was detonated. In this way, when a ship explodes at sea, it usually sinks, so it is impossible to search for the cause of the explosion.
Although it has obvious advantages in the manufacture of sea assault or destruction equipment, Italy failed to use it correctly at the beginning of the war. The first attempt to approach Alexandria ended in failure. The aviation of the other side found that the submarine "Igriel" carried a controllable torpedo and sank it, killing some crew members and commandos. After the defeat of the first battle, the attacks on British naval vessels in Alexandria and Gibraltar also failed.
1 941March15th, 10 the anti-submarine motorcycle torpedo detachment was independent from1detachment and was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Moccagatta. 10 detachment consists of headquarters, operations department, research department and office. The combat detachment consists of a surface brigade and a submarine brigade, equipped with assault speedboats, submarines and controllable torpedoes. In addition, a special school for training torpedo operators, a biological center for selecting crew members and a diving center for studying the long-term underwater stay of crew members have been established. At the same time, it has produced various new assault equipment and actively carried out combat training.
Although many attacks on enemy ports ended in failure, at the end of March, 194 1, Italian maritime commandos won their first victory. On the night of March 25th to 26th, in Suda Bay, surface troops successfully attacked 1 cruiser, 1 ship and two oil tankers, resulting in serious damage to the cruisers, sinking in the nearshore shoal and capsizing the oil tankers and ships.
Malta was defeated, and the surface troops were wiped out.
As early as before World War II, the Italian navy had planned to attack the port of Valletta in Malta. After the war began, Italian maritime commandos conducted long-term reconnaissance on islands, port entrances, defense facilities and artillery positions. The plan to attack Malta was postponed twice because of the low equipment intact rate and bad weather conditions. Drawing on the previous experience and lessons, the action plan was improved, and the third action was carried out from the night of July 25th to 26th. 194 1.
Italian navy frogman in action.
In addition to nine assault speedboats, there are two controllable torpedoes operated by two crew members to launch attacks. 1 Torpedo is operated by Tessie. According to the action plan, the barrier network at the entrance should be blown up to clear the way for the second torpedo to fly to the main port. The second torpedo was operated by Costa, and its task was to infiltrate the submarine base in Mu Schet Bay and mine it, destroying at least 1 submarine. However, the operation failed at the beginning, and the 1 engines of nine speedboats stalled and the speedboats sank. When Costa manipulated the second torpedo, he found that the torpedo engine was unstable. In order to eliminate the fault, he lost the action time. In order to ensure that the whole action plan is not destroyed, Tese directly detonated a torpedo under the port bridge. Soon, the bridge collapsed, blocking the passage that had just been blasted, and the speedboat that rushed into the port had no way to escape. In the battle, it was met with fierce artillery fire. Six assault boats were sunk on the spot, and the other two were destroyed by British warplanes when retreating. Costa and his partner were captured on the second torpedo that failed to enter the port. Commanders of detachment and surface forces command the whole operation from the support boat. After being attacked by British aviation, they sank into the sea with the support ship.
Alexander wins
1941September 20th to September 20th 2 1 The controlled torpedo attack finally succeeded. The Italian navy's underwater commandos blew up four British ships (three oil tankers and 1 internal combustion engine warships) in Gibraltar, with a total displacement of 6,543,800 tons. The success of this operation is mainly attributed to Major Borghese, who is temporarily in charge of the command of the detachment. He commanded the submarine "skil" and secretly transported frogmen to the waters of Gibraltar.
Italian navy frogman in action.
19411219, the Italian frogman won the greatest victory in the history of war in Alexandria, sinking the battleships Queen Elizabeth and Pioneer of the British Navy with controllable torpedoes. This victory is of great significance. In that year 10, German submarines sank two of the four British battleships in the Mediterranean: the barham and the Royal Ark. 19 February 19 After the victory of the Italian frogman, the British navy completely lost its strength advantage in the Mediterranean and could not compete with the five battleships of the Italian navy.
On the one hand, victory is due to unexpected actions. The Italian Navy has established a controlled torpedo production base in algeciras, which is directly adjacent to Gibraltar. Using the damaged Italian civil steamboat "Oltra", the sea commandos disguised as ordinary crew members and built a controlled torpedo assembly workshop inside the cabin. All torpedo parts were transported by disguised as ordinary spare parts and maintenance equipment, and were launched into a special cabin at the bottom of the cabin during the operation, completing a fatal blow. In addition, Italy actively uses diplomatic cover. With the help of the secretary of the Italian Consulate in Turkey, the commandos under the cover of the consulate staff found out the situation of Alexandria in other ports, successfully laid mines at the bottom of several warships and installed "Pauletti" special ammunition.
During World War II, the Italian frogman sank four British warships with a total displacement of 75,690 tons. 27 merchant ships with total displacement 189662 tons. In contrast, the loss of the Italian navy is negligible, which fully proves that the operational efficiency of the maritime commando is high and it is necessary to use it in combat. If it can be closely combined with the actual situation and used correctly and timely, it will have a substantial impact on the war situation.
Development after World War II
After the war, as a defeated country, the Italian army had no right to own assault troops, and the navy 10 detachment was dissolved, but special operations experts were retained and sent to other underwater combat troops to serve. 1954 After Italy joined NATO, on the basis of the famous maritime commandos in World War II, it began to set up the Italian Navy Underwater Commandos (Comsubin). In the confrontation with the Warsaw Pact Group headed by the Soviet Union, its outstanding performance in sea assault damage was highly praised by its allies.
Italian navy special forces
At present, the underwater operation commandos have been incorporated into the operational formation of the Italian navy 10 unit. The captain is a major general, directly under the leadership of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, and his base is located in Vagliano Port, Xiha Province, Raspe. In terms of organizational structure, there are three basic combat teams: commando team, underwater team and special floating equipment team. In addition, there are teaching teams to train experts and ammunition equipment research teams. Teaching and scientific research institutions are directly located in combat troops, which can directly and flexibly improve active weapons and equipment and make up for the defects found in the process of combat use at any time.
Task, Selection and Training of Team Members
The special tasks of Italian navy commandos are divided into direct action, special reconnaissance, anti-terrorism action and humanitarian action. Direct actions include assault and destruction behind enemy lines, attacks on offshore targets (warships and other floating equipment, offshore oil platforms), and raids on coastal infrastructure of ports and naval bases; Special reconnaissance tasks mainly include strategic intelligence collection, in-depth reconnaissance in enemy-occupied areas, reconnaissance in coastal areas, and selection of landing sites for maritime commandos. Anti-terrorist actions include rescuing hostages, discovering and eliminating terrorist groups on sea and water vehicles; Humanitarian action is mainly to participate in peacekeeping operations and disaster relief operations within the framework of the United Nations.
Italian navy special commandos
The selection and training of underwater commandos is the responsibility of the teaching team in the commando training school system. In May each year, the selection of alternate members begins to participate in the initial training course of naval special forces, and the whole selection process lasts for 54 weeks. After nearly a year of cruel physical and psychological training, only 5- 15% of the players can stay, and the new players can't be over 27 years old. They are usually selected from active naval personnel, including officers, non-commissioned officers, private soldiers and contract soldiers, as well as members from the army, mostly from the amphibious combat unit of the "St. Kyle" Marine Corps. In the initial training and selection stage, the player's position, professional category, other achievements and specialties have no meaning to the final victory.
The training course is divided into four training stages, each stage ends with a series of physical and psychological examinations, and those who fail are eliminated at any time. Prior to this, a two-week primary election was held, mainly for medical, physiological and aquatic skills assessment. The latter includes launching, swimming, running in water, breaking through water barriers, crawling in water and other test contents that can determine the future team members' specialties, and the real training begins.
The first phase of the course is ground combat training, which lasts for 12 weeks. Students often carry out land training under full armed conditions, learn topographic mapping at the same time, and complete teaching shooting, urgent marching, battlefield attack and other subjects. The 40-kilometer March under the armed conditions of total combat is required to be completed within 7 hours, and the emergency March with various possible obstacles under rugged terrain is required to be completed within 70 minutes.
The second stage is mainly water warfare training, which lasts for 13 weeks. It is mainly about swimming on and under the condition of using underwater air supply devices (oxygen cylinders and masks) and closed-loop devices. At the end of the course, students should swim 2 kilometers of the sea in 6 1 minute, put on diving suits and flippers, and dive 6000 meters in 2 hours and 38 minutes. At the same time, they should use a compass to determine their own direction. The deviation of direction and distance shall not exceed 15 degrees and 1000 meters.
The third stage is amphibious combat training, which lasts for 12 weeks, mainly including aircraft navigation learning, landing, capturing coastal areas, infiltrating enemy territory, team (patrol) reconnaissance, etc. At the same time, we should master the skills of mine clearance, mine laying and blasting, learn to use light weapons, conduct reconnaissance and surprise ground targets. At the end of this stage, the assessment time is relatively short, but the intensity is relatively large.
The final stage lasts for 65,438+05 weeks, all of which are composed of systematic drills and assessments. Students who pass this final stage will receive a green beret and a special professional logo symbolizing the underwater action commando.
Continue training
The new team members who successfully pass the initial training course will then receive a six-month special training, including skydiving training at the Pisa Special Training Center, and finally decide the professional division of the new team members in the special forces. Frogman's professional skill level is constantly improving during the whole service period (usually no more than 35 years). At any time, according to the needs of the task, he will be trained in skills such as skydiving, mountaineering, sniper, mine laying, blasting, aerial photography, prevention of being captured, escape after being captured, and medical rescue knowledge.
Italian navy frogman
The Water Assault Brigade (GOI) consists of a headquarters and a combat unit. The combat detachment consists of six cavalry companies, each with 25 people, and at least two officers, the company commander and the deputy company commander. The cavalry company consists of 6- 10 teams or action groups, and the specific number depends on the task needs. As a special force, the cavalry company has a very high training level, which can not only carry out special assault missions at sea, but also carry out anti-terrorism and hostage rescue operations at sea. In combat training, it is necessary to complete the training content of all subjects, participate in various drills or combat actions, and improve the combat coordination ability. When performing tasks, the team members usually cooperate in pairs.
The Underwater Operation Brigade (GOS) consists of six frogmen teams, each with/kloc-0 officers and 7 players. It is deployed in Cagliari, Augusta, taranto, Siha, Raspe, ancona and Lena Port, Ramada, and mainly performs tasks such as underwater demining and preventing enemy frogmen from infiltrating.
GNS is used to ensure the action of commandos and frogmen, equipped with search and rescue boats, the latest diving devices and auxiliary boats.
From the operational point of view, the difference between the water assault brigade and the underwater action brigade lies in the different tasks of each brigade. If the commandos are mainly engaged in active, positive and aggressive actions, then the underwater action forces mainly take defensive measures to protect the enemy from similar destructive actions. They are anti-underwater destructive forces and mainly protect ports, coastal areas and ships from the destruction and infiltration of enemy frogman forces. In fact, their roles are interchangeable, because all the players have diving skills, underwater combat and assault skills, and they can all participate in surface combat.
underwater operation
In peacetime, the frogmen of the Italian navy special forces are still engaged in more dangerous work, mainly searching for and removing dangerous explosives on the seabed. 1During the Yugoslav war in May-June, 1999, Italian navy special forces dismantled 34 aerial bombs in the waters over 500 square kilometers off the coast of Augias. When NATO planes attacking Yugoslav ground targets are in danger or damaged, they sometimes throw bombs into the sea. In order to eliminate these deadly hazards, the Italian navy sent 10 ships and 500 officers and men to participate in the rescue, including 30 frogmen from the underwater operation brigade.
Frogman is equipped with the latest light diving devices and special devices for clearing mines and ammunition, such as water cannon and special simple sonar, which can spray water on dangerous explosives at 2000 units of atmospheric pressure. In order to search for sunken ships and submarines with accidents and rescue divers, the Underwater Action Brigade is equipped with special diving devices and equipment that can work in deep water, such as MSM-38+0 1 1 mini submarine, and an underwater rescue boat that can transport 12 sailors at a time, which can be used for deep water operations in the whole Mediterranean. The Underwater Action Brigade is also equipped with ADS self-help diving suit made in Canada, which can adjust human breathing according to the diving depth.
Members of the Italian navy special forces are equipped with SC70 "Beret" assault rifles, various MP-5 improved submachine guns, PM 12 "Beret" submachine guns, 92SB "Beret" pistols, P1/underwater pistols, and if necessary, M 16, G3.
The underwater commandos of the Italian navy also work closely with the special forces of the United States, Britain, Spain and Israel, and are regarded by western experts as special forces with high training level and professionalism, good personnel and super combat capability. In recent years, China has also actively participated in peacekeeping operations in Somalia, Lebanon, Albania, Rwanda and East Timor, and has been highly praised. (Plateau)