The appearance of the Queen Elizabeth Class dreadnoughts was a revolutionary event in the history of world shipbuilding. The changes affected the types and location of weapons, speed, for the first time the ship used only liquid fuel- oil. All these transformations became possible thanks to the new First Lord of the Admiralty - Winston Churchill. Prior to his arrival, plans for the construction of battleships included the laying of improved models "". However, there were rumors that it plans to increase the capacity of its naval weapons. At the same time, Japan and the United States already had 14-inch guns. To continue to demonstrate their power, it was necessary to surprise the enemy. At the same time, guns with a caliber of 381 mm (15 inches) were only at the development stage, respectively, they did not pass the tests. Churchill decided to take a chance and build a fundamentally new dreadnought, different from his predecessors.

Booking, armament "Queen Elizabeth"

The protection of the ship was strengthened in some places, but in some places the armor had to be weakened - the deck was upholstered with plates only 6 mm thick. Turbine generators ensured the smooth operation of all electrical devices. The water desalination system was improved - up to 650 tons per day. The speed of movement reached 25 knots.

Main caliber of 381 mm guns 15″/42cal Mk I

The armament consisted of the following types techniques:

• 8 naval 381mm 15″/42cal Mk I cannons, which guaranteed increased range and power to kill. It was decided to remove one main battery turret. Calculations showed that a volley of 8 new 15-inch artillery mounts would exceed total weight the previous ten 13.5-inch guns. The freed up space could be used to accommodate additional boilers, providing increased travel speed. This solution turned out to be quite successful, the experience was used in subsequent developments.
• 16 anti-mine installations 152-mm Mk XII. 12 guns repeated their location on the Iron Duke. At the same time, 4 more casemates were added - 2 on each side on the main deck. However, the main problem with the placement of secondary weapons was not resolved - during the excitement at sea, the installations were flooded. Over time, some of them had to be dismantled.
• 2 anti-aircraft guns with a caliber of 76 mm;
• 4 underwater torpedo tubes 533 mm.

Service

It was planned to build 6 battleships of this class. In fact, only 5 vessels were laid down. Four of them participated in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The radius of destruction was more than 17 km, this distance exceeded the firing range of the German military equipment. Nevertheless, the enemy managed to get close and damaged three Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. In the post-war years, they underwent modernization and received a number of improvements in the field of weapons and electronics.

In the early years of World War II, the Barham was attacked by the German submarine U-331. Together with the ship, 862 crew members went under water. However, before that, the battleship took part in the Battle of Dakar, where she damaged a French ship driven by opponents. In 1941 he took part in the sinking of an Italian heavy cruiser.

The other four dreadnoughts saw action in many notable battles, all of which were damaged by the enemy. So, the lead ship "Queen Elizabeth" in December 1941 off the coast of Egypt was mined by Italian divers. He spent the next year and a half at the repair docks in Alexandria, the US and the UK. Having recovered, the ship continued to participate in military battles. After the end of the war, all the described battleships were withdrawn from service.

Their design had much in common with the Iron Duke-class ships, but at the same time contained a number of important innovations, so the construction of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships should be considered one of the turning points in the history of military shipbuilding.

Series history

Design

After the caliber of the main artillery was chosen, it was time to prepare a project for the carrier ship of this weapon. The initial design had a standard layout: ten guns in five turrets - two at the extremities of the linearly elevated and one in the middle of the ship, a speed of about 21 knots, side armor 330 mm thick. Calculations showed that the mass of the 381-mm projectile allows for the possibility of reducing the number of guns to eight, and even in this case, superiority in salvo over the Iron Duke is ensured. Ten 343 mm Mk.V guns gave a side salvo of 6350 kg, and eight 381 mm guns had a side salvo of 6804 kg. As a result, by eliminating the middle turret, the weight and space saved made it possible to install additional mechanisms and boilers to obtain higher speed. In this regard, a new tactical concept was developed for the use of new battleships. It was supposed to create a high-speed link from them, which would be able to cover the enemy column or, with its powerful fire, sharply increase the firepower of some part of the fleet, concentrating fire on a separate enemy ship or squadron. For this use of battleships, a speed of at least 23 knots is required, and even 25 knots is better.

Design

Placing a battery of anti-mine guns was certainly a weak point in the project. As on the Iron Duke, they suffered the same - in fresh weather they were flooded with water. The stern gun had to be dismantled.

Booking

The distribution of armor is similar to the Iron Duke, somewhere the armor protection of the new battleships has been improved, somewhat weakened. The thickness of the armor belt along the waterline increased from 305 to 330 mm, and along the main deck the thickness of the armor decreased from 203 to 152 mm. All bulkheads had a thickness of 152 mm, under the barbette of the tower "A" the thickness of the bulkhead was reduced to 51 mm. The deck armor was reduced in places to 6 mm, but in general it was 95 mm in the middle part of the ship instead of 89 mm on the Iron Duke, and anti-torpedo bulkheads, the thickness of which increased from 38 mm to 51 mm, ran along the entire hull, but not behind them there were coal pits.

Armament

Power point

The power plant of the Queen Elizabeth-class ships consisted of two sets of Parsons or Curtis steam turbines with direct shaft transmission. Each set of turbines consisted of forward and reverse high pressure turbines and forward and reverse low pressure turbines. The engine room was divided into three longitudinal compartments. The low-pressure turbines were in the middle compartment, and the high-pressure turbines were in the outer ones. They drove four three-bladed propellers made of manganese bronze. Despite the projected speed of 25 knots, due to the construction overweight, the ship had an increased draft and never developed more than 24 knots due to greater hydrodynamic resistance. Without forcing cars, the speed was 23 knots.

Auxiliary mechanisms

Two 450 kW turbogenerators and two 200 kW turbogenerators provided the ship with electricity at a constant voltage of 200. The seawater desalination system consisted of two plants with a total capacity of 650 tons per day.

Representatives

Canadian Bill of Naval Assistance 1912 ( Borden's Naval Aid Bill) assumed the allocation of funds for the construction of three modern dreadnoughts (possibly Acadia, Quebec and Ontario), which, most likely, should have become three more ships of this type, similar to the sponsored by the Federated States of Malaya Malaya. However, the bill was rejected by the Canadian Senate, in which the opposition Liberal Party held the majority of seats. It is not known whether these ships should have served in the Royal Navy, like Malaya or the battlecruiser New Zealand, or become part of the Royal Canadian Navy.

Project evaluation

The twentieth century is a century of unceasing civil and world wars, a time of rapid processes and changes, a century of grandiose accomplishments, but at the same time terrifying events. This century brought many bloody and cruel battles, including naval ones. The Battle of the Skagerrak, the Battle of La Plata, the Battle of Tsushima and the defense of Port Arthur, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Battle of Midway - this list seems to be endless, as well as the list of warships created at that time.

How it all started

At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of military clashes between world powers increased exponentially, and this, in turn, led to the fact that the quality of their weapons and the number of their military equipment also grew inexorably, in particular, there was an active improvement in the construction of warships. The turning point in the development of military justice was the creation of battleships.

What is a battleship?

A battleship (short for "ship of the line") is such a class of military armored ships equipped with heavy artillery pieces. The length of these vessels ranged from 150 to 280 meters, and their displacement reached 70 tons. Created to destroy and destroy enemy ships, battleships were direct evolutionary successors of battleships. The progenitor of the class of battleships was the English ship Dreadnought, which was born in 1906. The Dreadnought had a steam turbine power plant, which provided it with tremendous speed at that time - 21 knots (translating knots into kilometers, we can say that its speed then reached 39 km / h). The construction of the Dreadnought and the use of its advantages in the open sea significantly changed the state of affairs in the naval arms race and in shipbuilding in general. So, following the British, one after another, countries began to create battleships with single-caliber guns and modernize them, wanting to overtake their rivals. Ships of this type received the name of their ancestor - "dreadnoughts", and more improved versions - "superdreadnoughts" and "superdreadnoughts".

The history of the creation of the series "Queen Elizabeth"

The next step in the development of world and military shipbuilding was the creation by the British of the battleships of the Queen Elizabeth class. In this series, five superdreadnoughts were designed and presented: Malaya, Valiant, Barham, Warspite and the lead ship, the Queen Elizabeth, named, like the series itself, in honor of the Queen of England, mistress of the seas, Elizabeth I. These ships owe their appearance to Winston Churchill, who, being the first Lord of the Admiralty, with his characteristic fuse and ideas, insisted on a different design of these battleships and on their significant modifications, ordering to supply these ships with super-heavy military guns. According to rumors, the United States, Germany and Japan are already actively improving their ships, ahead of the Royal Navy of Great Britain by several steps forward. There was no time for thorough armament tests, so Sir Winston Churchill had no choice but to take the risk and, taking responsibility, lay down a series of ships without waiting for the guns to be checked and tested. Fortunately, the risk was justified. On average, these ships of the line cost £1,960,000 to build.

Series Features

The battleship Queen Elizabeth and similar ships, as mentioned earlier, differed from their predecessors and had a number of features. First of all, these battleships had guns with a 15-inch caliber - a huge power for those times. Secondly, the superdreadnoughts of this series became the first large ships to run on oil fuel, previously battleships of this size were powered only by steam. Thirdly, the speed of the battleships of the Queen Elizabeth class reached 24 knots (if you translate knots into kilometers per hour, it will be clear that the speed of such ships reached 45 km / h). In addition, these ships had the highest metacentric height in the entire British fleet, which perfectly ensured their stability, helped to withstand wave blows and strong gusts of winds.

Battleship "Queen Elizabeth": characteristics and description

The lead ship of the series was laid down at the Portsmouth Navy Yard on October 12, 1912. built in as soon as possible, it was launched in October of the thirteenth year and was later completed afloat. The outbreak of the First World War also contributed to the accelerated completion of the ship, so it is not surprising that at the beginning of 1915 the battleship was already part of

The length of the battleship Queen Elizabeth is 183.41 m, the width is 27.6 m, the standard displacement is 29,200 tons. The armor of this ship is almost identical to its predecessor, the Iron Duke, with the exception of some elements, for example, the layer of metal armor along the waterline has been increased, and along the main deck, on the contrary, it has been weakened. Superdreadnought armament: 8 (381 mm), 16 anti-mine installations (152 mm), 2 anti-aircraft guns (76 mm), 4 underwater single-tube torpedo tubes (533 mm). The Queen Elizabeth used Parsons turbines and 24 Babcock and Wilcox boilers. Thus, the power of this battleship reached 75,000 horsepower.

The further fate of the battleship

In 1915, the battleship Queen Elizabeth was sent to the Dardanelles to support the amphibious landings during the Battle of Gallipoli, during this mission the British battleship sank a Turkish transport in the shallow bay of Nagara with a third salvo. Despite high speed and super-heavy guns, the lead ship could not participate in the largest battle of the First World War - the Battle of Jutland, but in 1917 it became the flagship of Admiral David Beatty, commander of the Grand Fleet.

Second World War found the battleship "Queen Elizabeth" at the time of modernization. Until 1941, the ship "Queen Elizabeth" served in the British Home Fleet. But in December of 1941, while anchored in Alexandria, the battleship was badly damaged by Italian frogmen using magnetic mines, which led to the formation of a large hole and the flooding of many compartments. After repairs, the battleship was sent to the Indian Ocean and from the beginning of 1944 became the flagship of the Eastern Fleet, making several raids on the islands of Indonesia and Malaysia. In July 45, the battleship Queen Elizabeth made her last military campaign, went into reserve in August of the same year and was sold for scrap a couple of years after that.

On November 13, 1941, the English aircraft carrier Ark Royal, with a displacement of 22,000 tons, which left Gibraltar, was attacked in the Mediterranean by a German submarine and sank as a result of a single torpedo hit (submarine commander - Lieutenant Commander of the German Navy).

On November 25, in the Tobruk area, the English East Mediterranean Squadron, consisting of three battleships - Barham (flagship), Queen Elizabeth and Valient - and conventional escort ships was attacked by another German submarine (commander - Lieutenant Commander von Tiesenhausen ).

This incident deserves to be told briefly, considering the courage shown by the crew of the submarine, the results of the attack and the circumstances (favorable and unfavorable) that accompanied it.

On this day, Tiesenhausen found three warships in the periscope, walking in wake formation at a distance of 500 m from each other. The boat commander began approaching the lead ship. He managed to break through the chain of destroyers and launch four torpedoes from the bow tubes from a distance of 400 m. The torpedo hit hit the magazines of ammunition, and the ship flew into the air. Debris shot up into the sky, and in less than five minutes, the Barham disappeared under water, taking with it over 800 crew members.

However, the atmosphere on the submarine was not very suitable for celebrating the victory. For some reason, perhaps because she suddenly freed herself from the weight of four torpedoes, the boat surfaced and, moving by inertia, found herself not far from the bow of the Valient, which was second in line in the wake. Frantic fire was opened from the battleship, but the distance was so small that the submarine was out of the affected area.

Tiesenhausen miraculously managed to avoid a ramming blow. The boat sank at the very bow of the Valient, disappeared under water and was able to return unscathed to the base.

As a result of the actions of German submarines in the British Mediterranean Fleet in November 1941, only two battleships remained - the Queen Elizabeth and the Valient. And this is just at the moment when the Italian Navy had 5 battleships, including Doria, Vittorio Veneto and Littorio, that is, 3 modernized and 2 powerful, new construction. Never before or later did Italy have so many ships of the line.

The British, in order to save their two remaining battleships from the danger of destruction, at that time especially valuable, because they represented the main naval force in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (the situation in the Far East did not allow sending reinforcements), took all precautions in Alexandria.

In view of the previous actions of the 10th Italian flotilla in Souda Bay, Malta and Gibraltar, the British used the latest defensive means in Alexandria to protect their warships, waiting for a favorable opportunity to go to sea. This moment was chosen by the 10th flotilla to strike at the enemy ships hidden in the base.

Meanwhile, Captain 2nd Rank Ernesto Forza, a brave and capable officer, was appointed to the post of commander of the 10th MAC flotilla. For the brilliantly conducted operation in the Tunisian Strait against the English convoy, he was awarded the gold medal "For Courage". His courage was complemented by rich experience in combat operations. torpedo boats, very useful when using special tools. Forza received excellent theoretical and practical training in the field of naval aviation, having spent several years as an observer pilot and teacher at aviation observer courses. A man of action, an enemy of bureaucracy in the service, a reasonable performer, always ready to solve a problem taking into account a changing situation, a sociable, good comrade, he commanded the 10th MAC flotilla until May 1, 1943. My constant close collaboration with him proved to be of great benefit to our work.

The Alexandrian operation was carefully prepared. At the same time, special attention was paid to keeping preparations in deep secrecy, which is an indispensable companion of the success of any action, and especially such when a few, in fact, defenseless people in the dark depths of the waters of an enemy port are opposed by barriers, numerous surveillance equipment, thousands of people under reliable protection armor on land and on ships with the task of detecting and destroying attackers.

Aerial reconnaissance was widely used to obtain the necessary data and aerial photographs to establish the location of ships in the port and the location of defensive means (network barriers, etc.).

The material part was prepared with special care - guided torpedoes, brought to necessary degree perfection, after the last action in Gibraltar were brought to full readiness.

The role of the "carrier" of torpedoes was again entrusted to the submarine "Wider". The courageous crew of the boat, already experienced enough in this kind of action, was the same as before, not a single person was replaced. After the usual rest in Alto Adige, all the personnel felt excellent.

Under my direction, a group of the most experienced torpedo pilots were trained to make passages similar to those they would meet in Alexandria (the purpose of the training was unknown to them). During night training, the real conditions of actions in the enemy port were reproduced with the maximum complication of the situation. While the drivers in training sessions were getting used to correctly distributing their forces, taking into account the length of the route and the obstacles encountered along the way, we received the data necessary for the final development of the operation plan. Thus, we, as if having been on the spot, had the opportunity to check all the details of the course of the operation, the timing of the stages, the methods for overcoming obstacles, the precautions taken to deceive enemy observers, and, finally, the degree of training of individual performers.

One fine day, all the torpedo drivers were gathered and Forza addressed them with such a short speech: “Friends, three crews are needed to complete the next task. Now I can only say one thing: unlike previous actions in Gibraltar, a return is very unlikely. Who wants to go? Without a moment's hesitation, everyone expressed their desire to take part in this operation. The question of the composition of the participants had to be decided by the command. The group included: Senior Lieutenant Luigi Durand de la Penne with foreman divers Emilio Bianchi; captain of the marine engineering service Antonio Marcheglia with diver Spartak Skergat; Naval Weapons Service Captain Vincenzo Martellotta with diver Mario Marine. The choice fell on these brave, determined people, strong in body and spirit, because they were better prepared. The commander of the group was appointed de la Penne, who had already participated in similar operations in Gibraltar. Quite by chance, three officers in the group turned out to be representatives of three different services of the navy: combat, engineering, and weapons. First Lieutenant of the Medical Service Spaccarelli and First Lieutenant of the Naval Engineering Service Feltrinell were assigned to the reserve, both more recent recruits than the others.

The personnel received the usual instructions about the strictest secrecy in conversations and correspondence with anyone - with comrades, seniors and superiors, and, of course, with relatives. Conducted enhanced training sessions; now so specific that it became clear what kind of actions they were talking about. Personal belongings were put in order in case of an early and sudden departure for an unforeseen period - forever in case of failure and for several years in a prisoner of war camp in the happiest case. Preparations were in full swing. To ensure the success of such operations, their preparation should be organized with great care. It is necessary to take into account a wide variety of facts - from hydrographic and meteorological data to information about the organization of the enemy's guards.

There are a thousand different things to take care of: from aerial photography of the object to ensuring reliable radio communication with the submarine in order to inform it of the number and location of ships in the port and give a signal to launch torpedoes; from ciphers to alerting materiel; from orders and directives to the preparation of torpedo crews so that on the appointed day they will be in the best shape; from the study of navigation and the preliminary dip of the course of the submarine and the development of ways to break through the port of guided torpedoes to work on new means of attack in order to inflict as much damage on the enemy as possible.

It is impossible to hope for a happy accident; exact, cold-blooded calculation and complete calmness are necessary. The possibilities of the material part must be used to the end, people must make every effort.

During this preparatory period, we lost a valuable, pitching big hopes officer: senior lieutenant Sogos from the headquarters of the 10th flotilla was killed. On his way to Athens, where he went to make contact with the local military authorities, a common car accident ended his early life.

And finally, the time has come to go to sea to complete the task. On December 3rd, the Shire left La Spezia. We pretended that we were going out on a regular exercise so as not to arouse the curiosity of the crews of other submarines in the base.

My courageous, close-knit crew did not know about the purpose of our campaign, and did not seek to find out, otherwise it would have to be kept secret, and secrets, as you know, are not easy to keep. People only knew that a new operation was coming, maybe the same as the previous one, or maybe even more dangerous. They believed in their commander and in their ship, which during preparatory work they gave all their skill and diligence, knowing full well that the success and very life of each of them depended on the work of its mechanisms.

When we left the port, a barge approached us under the cover of darkness to avoid prying eyes. She brought from St. Bartholomew's workshops finely tuned guided torpedoes Nos. 221, 222, and 223, diving suits, oxygen breathing apparatus, the few things needed to turn six daredevils into weapons of destruction.

Drivers treated their torpedoes with care, almost tenderness. Each one is assigned the one on which he was trained, the advantages, disadvantages and whims of which he is well aware of. They themselves placed the torpedoes in the cylinders (de la Penne - in the bow, Marchella and Martellotta - in the stern) and firmly fixed them to protect them from shocks and avoid accidents.

Finally, in the dead of night, the loading of torpedoes was completed. We said goodbye to the torpedo drivers who left us temporarily, only to arrive again by plane at the very last moment. Past the island of Tino, through a passage in minefields, the boat goes out to sea. 23:00 December 3, 1941. Operation EA-3 began, the third attempt by the 10th Flotilla to attack the British Eastern Mediterranean Squadron in Alexandria.

To the coast of Sicily went quietly. And there was a curious incident, which is worth mentioning.

From Cape Peloro, they suddenly began to openly honk with a searchlight: “Submarine“ Wider ”. This is crazy! What do they need? Or do they want the whole world to know that the Shire, the only submarine of the Italian navy equipped to transport special means, has gone to sea? So you can reveal the secret, the preservation of which so much effort has been expended. Near the lighthouse of St. Ranieri (Messina), a boat of the command of the Navy approached us, they handed me a package. From the Main Headquarters of the Navy, they reported on the situation at sea, on the location of enemy ships and the possibility of meeting with them. At the same time, a message was received from Messina that a few hours ago an enemy submarine had been discovered off Cape dell'Armi, attacking our convoy.

We were supposed to go just past Cape dell'Armi. I decided to keep seaward. We went along the coast of Sicily to Taormina. Here I found a submarine that seemed to be motionless. I turned my nose to it (precaution never interferes) and requested an identification signal. the answer signaled something incomprehensible. It is clear that this is the enemy. Considering that the submarines noticed each other (it was a bright moonlit night) and bearing in mind the instructions I received and the purpose of the operation, and also taking into account the fact that the enemy had two guns, and I had none, I reported the detected enemy to Messina and set a course for the eastern Mediterranean Sea. What did the enemy do? He set a parallel course! So we walked for about an hour side by side, like good friends , at a distance of about 3 thousand meters. Then, just as unexpectedly, the enemy left us and turned back to Taormina. Strange things happen at sea during the war! The next day we witnessed initial spectacle. The surface of the sea was littered with debris and various items, including many life belts: a few days ago, our convoy was attacked in these places.

On the ninth of December, we approached the island of Leros and entered the bay of Porto Lago, which I knew well, as I had been here for a long time with the Iride submarine. This is a wonderful natural bay, protected from three sides by rocky mountains. On the shore there is a village that has grown over the past few years, with a hotel, a church, a municipality - a typical corner of Italy, transferred to this island in the Aegean sea.

We moored at the pier of the submarine base. Spingai, my classmate, the commander of the 5th submarine flotilla, immediately came to me and kindly, in a comradely manner, offered his services. First of all, I decided to cover the cylinders on the deck with a canvas. We pretend that the “Wider” is a submarine from another base, which received heavy damage in the battle and took refuge in Porto Lago, since it needs a long repair. Leros was teeming with Greeks, and extra precaution did not interfere. Six technicians, who had arrived by plane from Italy, began the final preparation of guided torpedoes. On the twelfth of December, also by plane, ten torpedo drivers arrived. To hide from prying eyes, they were placed on the Asmara transport, which was anchored in the secluded bay of Parteni on the opposite side of the island, the very one where the boats of the Fajoni division used to stand. On the thirteenth of December, I visited our torpedo drivers, who were enjoying their last hours of rest before the upcoming test. We discussed in detail the plan of the operation, got acquainted with the latest aerial photographs of the port and the information I received (small at the time). Then we chatted about trifles to get a little distraction from the thoughts that have completely dominated us for the last month.

From Rhodes, Admiral Biancheri, commander of the fleet of the Aegean Sea, arrived at Leros. He suggested that we conduct a series of tests of our special means here in Porto Lago under his direction. Taking advantage of the right of the ship's commander, I rejected this proposal. The admiral expressed his dissatisfaction and confidence that we "won't be able to do anything worthwhile, since the preparation period is too short."

There was no time to lose. Circumstances favored us: there were dark, moonless nights, the weather reports were also favorable. I decided to go to sea on December 14th. Maintained continuous communication with Forza, who was in Athens from the 9th to direct and coordinate the actions of aerial reconnaissance, information service, meteorological services and organize communications with the Shire submarine.

The order for the operation provided that the Shire submarine would approach the port of Alexandria in the evening at a distance of several kilometers. The city was supposed to be plunged into darkness (due to blackout). Therefore, to help the boat navigate and find the port (from right choice the place where torpedoes are launched depends to a large extent on the success of their drivers), our aviation was supposed to bombard the port that evening and the day before. Leaving the boat, the drivers of the torpedoes, moving in accordance with the developed route, had to approach the port, overcome the obstacles and head for the targets that the commander of the “Wider” boat had previously indicated to them on the basis of the latest data received by radio. Having attached the charges to the underwater part of the ships, the drivers must scatter the floating incendiary bombs they have. An hour after the explosion of the torpedo charging compartments, the bombs, having ignited, should set fire to the oil spilled on the surface of the water as a result of damage to the ships. Then a fire should break out on ships in the port, floating docks and, finally, in warehouses. Thus, the enemy's main naval base in the eastern Mediterranean will be completely put out of action.

After the launch of the torpedoes, the submarine "Wider" should lie on the return course. The drivers of the torpedoes were shown areas in the port, presumably poorly guarded, where they could get ashore, and roads along which they should leave the port as soon as possible.

The return of torpedo drivers was also envisaged. The submarine "Zaffiro" for two nights after the operation was supposed to be at sea 10 miles from the Rosetta mouth of the Nile. Torpedo drivers who manage to elude enemy guards will be able to get to the submarine using some boat that was mined on the shore.

Taking on board the drivers of the torpedoes, on the morning of December 14, the “Wider” left Leros. Swimming went well. During the day we went under water, and at night on the surface to charge the batteries and freshen the air in all compartments of the boat.

The task of the “Wider”, as usual, was to get as close as possible to the enemy port, without arousing suspicion and not allowing itself to be detected ahead of time. Being detected means triggering anti-submarine defense action - a merciless hunt for a submarine, which can interfere with the mission. You need to act very carefully. And since a submarine can be detected using hydrophones, navigation must be silent.

According to reports, Alexandria, as, indeed, all other ports in war time was surrounded by minefields.

The fixed and mobile defenses explored included: a) minefields 20 miles northwest of the port; b) bottom mines located at a depth of 55 m in a circle with a radius of about 6 miles; c) a strip of signal cables (closer to the port); d) a group of bottom mines, the location of which is known; e) network barriers, the overcoming of which does not present any particular difficulties; e) surveillance and detection service on approaches to minefields.

How to overcome all these obstacles? How to get through the minefields without knowing the passages? What about bottom mines? What about signal lines?

To achieve the goal, sometimes you just have to trust fate: there is nothing else left. But one cannot rely only on fate. Therefore, when I reached places with depths of 400 m (probable border of minefields), I decided to go at a depth of at least 60 m, assuming that mines, even anti-submarine mines, were laid with a smaller depression. If the submarine stumbled upon the minrep, I hoped that it would slip along the skin along her hull without getting caught. However, in order to avoid the danger of stumbling on a mine, there was only one thing left - to count on luck.

The next difficulty was to bring the submarine exactly to the appointed place, that is, to go strictly adhering to the previously laid course, avoiding deviations caused by undercurrents, which are always with with great difficulty are accountable. The difficulty becomes especially clear when one considers the almost complete impossibility of determining one's position since, at dawn on the day preceding the operation, the submarine must dive (so as not to be detected by the enemy) and go in deep water (to avoid mines) until the launch of torpedoes .

Thus, when diving, it is necessary to take into account the speed of the course, accurately plot the course and strictly adhere to it, and, finally, determine your location by changing the sea depths (the only hydrographic element available when determining the location of a submerged submarine). All this is more like an art than a science of swimming.

The whole crew helped me: officers, non-commissioned officers, sailors. Everyone in his post served and ensured the operation of the mechanisms in such a way as to prevent unforeseen delays that could interfere with the successful completion of the task.

Ursano, the chief mate, kept order on the boat. Venini and Olchese, experienced navigators, assisted me in navigation, as well as in the very delicate business of encryption and communication. Thayer, a mechanic, commander of the electromechanical unit, monitored the operation of mechanisms (diesels, electric motors, batteries, compressors, etc.), ensuring their trouble-free operation. Non-commissioned officers deserve the highest praise, as they know their job. Radio operators maintained continuous communication with Rome and Athens. All conscientiously performed their duties. Cook, not the last person on board (the sailor appointed to this position had previously been a bricklayer), was a real martyr: on his feet around the clock, at a tiny red-hot electric stove. In any weather at sea, he prepared food for 60 people from canned food, hot drinks for those who carried the night watch, and plentiful food to maintain a high morale of the torpedo drivers. And they calmly rested and accumulated strength. De la Penne, blond with disheveled hair, lay on the bunk all the time, sleeping. Without opening his eyes, from time to time he extended his hand, took out a sandwich from the drawer and quickly devoured it. Then he turned over to the other side and fell asleep again.

On the other bed lay Martellotta. He was always cheerful: "Calm, and everything will be fine." He repeated this at every opportunity.

Marchella, tall, calm, read all the time; his thick bass was rarely heard. If he addressed anyone, it was a question from the field of technology or a remark about upcoming actions. feltrinelli, Bianchi, Marino, Skergat, Fevale, Mamoli - each chose a corner among the numerous equipment of the boat and spent time there for relaxation, interrupting it only to eat heartily.

Supervision of the health of the crews of guided torpedoes was entrusted to the doctor Spaccarelli, a diver and commander of the reserve crew; he examined people every day: it is necessary that they be in the best shape on the now near day of operations.

Everyone is in a good mood; difficulties and dangers did not frighten, but only increased the desire to overcome them; the drivers betrayed nothing of their tension and impatience; conversations were carried on in the cheerful tone adopted on board, wit did not leave them; they never missed a chance to play a joke on each other.

These guys were truly extraordinary people. They were going to an operation that would require from them the greatest effort of all spiritual and physical strength, putting his life in mortal danger for several hours. There was an operation coming out of which, at best, you could get out as prisoners of war, and they behaved like a sports team going to a regular Sunday match.

On December 16, the submarine Shire was caught in a storm. “In order not to damage the material during the pitching, and mainly not to tire the crews of the torpedoes, I dive. At night, we surface for a while, and then, as soon as the batteries are charged and the compartments are ventilated, we dive again. Due to stormy weather and the lack of accurate information about the composition of the ships in the port, I decide to postpone the operation for one day, that is, to carry it out on the night of the 18th to the 19th.

“December 17. Taking into account the location of the boat and the changed, now favorable meteorological conditions, I decide to schedule the operation for the evening of the 18th in the hope of obtaining accurate information about the presence of ships in the port before that.”

This hope was quickly realized: that same evening we finally, to our greatest joy, received a message from Athens that, along with other ships, two ships of the line were in Alexandria.

Now forward! All day on December 18, the “Wider” advanced in a zone considered to be mined at a depth of 60 m; The depth of the sea decreased as we approached the shore. The boat crawled like a tank, but silent and invisible. They continuously plotted the course, monitoring the change in the sea depths. At 18 o'clock. 40 minutes, the submarine, being at a depth of 15 m, reached the target point, 1.3 miles (bearing 356 °) from the lighthouse on the western pier of the commercial port of Alexandria.

Everything was prepared for the upcoming exit of the drivers. As soon as darkness thickened on the surface of the sea, I ordered to surface to the positional position. Then he climbed into the wheelhouse and opened the hatch. The weather is perfect: the night is dark, the sea is calm, the sky is clear. Alexandria is very close in front of me. I could make out the outlines of some characteristic buildings. I noted with great pleasure that we are at the indicated point. Exceptional result after 16 hours of blind swimming! Immediately after this, a parting ceremony took place with torpedo drivers dressed in light diving equipment with oxygen devices. They said goodbye without words, without hugs: “Commander,” they ask, “knock us for luck.” This strange ritual in which I put all my good wishes the breakup is over.

The commanders of the reserve crews Feltrinelli and Spaccarelli were the first to leave. They were instructed to open the cylinder covers so that the drivers of the torpedoes would not have to expend energy on this.

One by one, de la Penne and Bianchi, Marcheglia and Skergat Martellotta and Martino, in black waterproof overalls, wearing oxygen devices to restrict their movement, climbed the ladder and disappeared into the darkness of the night. The boat sank again.

After that, we began to wait for blows on the hull - a prearranged signal that the members of the reserve crews, having closed their now empty cylinders, were ready to return. On hearing the prearranged signal, we surfaced. In a voice breaking with excitement, Feltrinelli reported to me that, without seeing Spaccarelli, he went aft to him and accidentally stumbled on something soft on the deck; to the touch (do not forget that it happened at night and under water), he was convinced that in front of him was the missing Spaccarelli, showing no signs of life. I immediately ordered two other divers to leave, who were always ready when they surfaced. Spaccarelli was lifted up and lowered down the ladder into the boat. We again plunged and, strictly adhering to the route we had traveled, lay down on the return course.

They took off the mask of the device, overalls from poor Spaccarelli and laid him on a bunk. His face turned blue, there was no pulse, there was no breathing - classic symptoms of death.

What to do? Our doctor, unfortunately, could not help us in any way, because this misfortune happened to him. I ordered that two people continuously give him artificial respiration, and then, after examining our first-aid kit, I advised the victim to give the victim an intramuscular infusion of the contents of all three ampoules, in the explanation of which it was said that they had a stimulating effect on the work of the heart. The victim was given oxygen: all our modest supplies of medicines, as well as even more modest medical knowledge, were put to use to try to do what seemed completely impossible - to revive the dead.

While we were doing this inside the boat, she, sliding almost to the very bottom, moved away from Alexandria. We tried not to betray our presence in any way, the alarm would be fatal for the six daredevils who at that moment were performing the most difficult part of the operation. The control of the submarine became more complicated: the covers of the stern cylinders remained open, it was difficult to keep it at the right depth and monitor the trim. Having moved a few miles from the coast, they surfaced to close them. The lighthouse at Ras El Tin was lit; lights, which I had not noticed before, appeared at the entrance to the harbor: obviously, these were ships entering or leaving the port; it would be good if torpedo drivers could take advantage of this opportunity. As for the cylinders, it was not possible to close them due to damage to the covers.

The boat continued its journey in a submerged state, since the zone along which we were walking was considered to be mined. After three and a half hours of continuous artificial respiration, various injections and oxygen, something like a wheeze erupted from the chest of our doctor, who had not shown any signs of life until that moment. He is alive! We will save him! Indeed, after a few hours, despite the fact that his situation was difficult, he found the gift of speech and was able to tell what happened to him. Having made every effort to close the cover of the first cylinder, which did not give in in any way, he lost consciousness as a result of prolonged breathing of oxygen and the increased pressure experienced at depth. By a stroke of luck, he stayed on deck instead of slipping overboard. This could easily happen, since all the fences and railings were previously removed so that the minreps could not catch on them.

Finally, on the evening of December 19, when, according to our assumptions, we were already outside the minefields, that is, after 39 hours, diving, we decided to surface and headed for Leros. On the evening of December 20, a radiogram was received from the Naval General Staff: "According to aerial photographic reconnaissance, two battleships were damaged." jubilation on board; no one doubted the success, but to receive confirmation of this, and even so soon - what could be more pleasant!

On the evening of December 21, immediately after the boat entered Porto Lago, we sent Spaccarelli to the hospital. He was already out of danger, but still needed treatment due to severe shock.

The journey from Leros to La Spezia was uneventful except on Christmas Day. While the crew listened to the speech of the Pope on the radio, an aircraft of unknown nationality approaching the boat was fired upon by 13.2 mm anti-aircraft machine guns. In response, the aircraft dropped five small-caliber bombs, which fell about eighty meters astern without causing any harm. Christmas pies!

On the twenty-ninth of December, the Shire came to La Spezia. We were met at the pier by the commander of the Upper Tyrrhenian Maritime District, Admiral Vacci, who congratulated us on behalf of the Deputy Minister of the Navy, Admiral Ricciardi.

I am happy for our crew, who, as a result of hard and selfless work, managed to bring the submarine to port after 27 days of the campaign, of which we spent 22 days at sea, covering 3,500 miles without accidents and contributing to the cause of Italy's fight against the enemy.

What happened to our drivers, who remained on the high seas near Alexandria, riding on their torpedoes, among the enemies who lay in wait for them at every step?

All three crews left the submarine and set off along the indicated route (Fig. 6).

The sea was calm, it was a dark night. The lights in the port made it relatively easy to navigate. The crews fired their torpedoes with rare composure.

De la Penne reported in his report: “Seeing that we were going ahead of schedule, we opened a box of food and had breakfast. We are located 500 meters from the lighthouse in Ras El Tin.”

Finally they reached the barrier line: “We see several people standing on the pier, and we hear them talking, one of them is walking around with a lit lantern. We also see a large boat, which silently cruises around the pier, dropping bombs. These bombs are giving us a lot of trouble.”

While six heads, barely jutting out of the water, were peering intently into the darkness to find a passage in the nettings, three British destroyers appeared, which were about to enter the port; fires were lit, and a passage in the barrier opened. Without wasting a minute, three guided torpedoes, along with enemy ships, entered the port. They are in port! Making this maneuver, they lost sight of each other. But on the other hand, they are not far from the objects of attack, which were distributed as follows: de la Penne - the battleship Valient, Marchella - the battleship Queen Elizabeth, Martellotta was supposed to find an aircraft carrier. If there is no aircraft carrier in port, then attack a loaded tanker in the hope that the spilled oil will be ignited by floating incendiary bombs that the drivers must scatter in the port before they leave their torpedoes.

Let us now follow how things were for each crew, narrating this from the words of the drivers themselves.

De la Penne - Bianchi. Having bypassed the interned French ships in the port, the presence of which we were not aware of, de la Penne noticed a dark hulk at the indicated parking lot - the Valient battleship with a displacement of 32 thousand tons. He headed towards the ship, met the anti-torpedo net and decided to get over it, in order to spend as little time as possible, since his condition due to the cold was such that he felt that he would not last long. (His overalls had been leaking water since he left the submarine.) The maneuver was easy for him: he was now 30 meters from the Valient. Two hours 19 minutes, night. Light push. He's on board. When trying to bring a torpedo under the ship's hull, she suddenly unexpectedly went to the bottom. De la Penne dived after her and found her at a depth of 17 m. Then he was surprised to notice that the diver had disappeared somewhere. He surfaced to look for him, and did not find him. All is calm on board the battleship. Leaving Bianchi to fend for herself, de la Penne dived again and tried to use the torpedo's engine to bring her under the hull of the ship, from which she was now out of the way. The motor was not running; a quick inspection made it possible to establish the cause of the accident: a piece of cable was wrapped around the propeller.

What to do? One with a fixed torpedo on the bottom, so close to the target. De la Penne decided to do the only thing left for him - to drag the torpedo under the ship's hull, guided by the compass. He was in a hurry, because he was afraid that the British might soon discover Bianchi, possibly unconscious and floating on the surface somewhere nearby. An alarm would follow, depth charges would follow, and neither he nor his comrades, who were now a few hundred meters away, would complete the task. Drenched in sweat, he dragged the torpedo with all his might. Glasses fogged up; stirred up silt made compass orientation difficult; his breathing became heavy, but he stubbornly moved forward step by step. He heard the noises on board the ship now quite close, especially clearly - the noise of a piston pump, by which he oriented himself. After 40 minutes, de la Penne's superhuman effort finally hit his head on the ship's hull. A quick assessment of the situation follows: he, in all likelihood, was close to the middle of the ship - in the most advantageous place to do him the most harm. Penne's forces are running out. He used the rest of them to start the fuse's clock mechanism, setting it in accordance with the instructions received at exactly 5 o'clock. (according to Italian time, which corresponds to 6 o'clock, local time). The incendiary bombs that surfaced could give away the location of the charge, so de la Penne decided to leave them on the torpedo. He left the torpedo with the fuse clock set in motion at the bottom under the battleship's hull and surfaced. First of all, he took off his mask and flooded it. Clean, fresh air restored his strength, and he began to swim away from the ship. Suddenly, from the board they called out to him and lit up with a searchlight, a machine-gun burst rang out. He swam up to the ship and climbed out onto a barrel at the bow of the battleship Valient. Here he found Bianchi, who had lost consciousness and floated to the surface, and when he came to his senses, he hid on a barrel so as not to cause an alarm and not interfere with the work of his driver. “Jests are heard from the board, they believe that our attempt has failed; speak of Italians with contempt. I bring this to Bianchi's attention; probably in a couple of hours they will change their mind about the Italians.”

It's about half past four. Finally, a boat approached, both “shipwrecked” were put there and taken aboard the battleship. The English officer asked them who they were, where they came from, and ironically expressed his condolences on the failure. The drivers, from that moment prisoners of war, presented their military identification cards. They refused to answer questions.

They were again put on a boat and taken ashore, to a barrack located near the lighthouse in Ras El Tin. Bianchi was interrogated first; leaving the barracks, he made a sign to de la Penne that he did not say anything. Then it was de la Penne's turn: he also refused to answer. The Englishman threatened with a pistol. "I'll make you talk!" he spoke in good Italian. It was already four o'clock. They were taken back to the Valient. The ship's commander, Captain 1st Rank Morgan, asked where the charge was. They refused to answer, and they were taken, accompanied by an officer of the watch under escort, to a punishment cell, one of the rooms located on the bow between the two towers - not so far from the place where the explosion would be.

Let us give the floor to de la Penne himself:

“The guards were a little pale and very kind. They gave me a drink of rum and treated me to cigarettes. They also wanted to know something. Meanwhile, Bianchi sat down and dozed off. 10 minutes left of the explosion, I declare that I want to talk to the commander of the ship. I am taken to his stern. I tell him that in a few minutes his ship will be blown up, that nothing can be done, and that if he wants, he can take care of crew rescue. The commander asks again where the charge is located, and since I do not answer, orders me to be taken back to the punishment cell. Passing along the corridors, I hear that the order is being transmitted through the loudspeakers to leave the ship attacked by the Italians, and I see that people I run back to the stern. They lock me up again in the punishment cell. I go down the ladder and, believing that Bianchi is where I left him, I say that we are not lucky that our song is sung, but that we can be satisfied, since we are lucky axis, no matter what, complete the task. Bianchi doesn't answer me. I'm looking for it, but I can't find it. I guess the British took him away so I wouldn't talk to him. A few minutes pass (hellish minutes: will it explode or not?) - and finally an explosion. The whole ship trembles. The light goes out. The room is filled with smoke. All around me are blocks and chain links, dropped from the ceiling where they were hung. I am unharmed, except for the pain in my knee bruised by one of the dropped links. The ship is listing to the left. I open the porthole, which turned out to be close to the water level, hoping to get out through it and swim away. But this is impossible: the porthole is too small, and I have to give up this attempt. I leave it open - after all, there will be one more entrance for water. Light enters the room only through the porthole. I don't think it's wise to stay here. I feel that the ship has sunk to the bottom and continues to roll to the left. I go up the ladder, find the hatch open and go aft. Most of the crew has gathered there, the sailors get up when I pass by. I go to the commander. He directs the rescue of the ship. I ask where he did my diver. The commander does not answer, and the officer on duty orders me to be silent. The ship has listed 4 - 5 degrees and is now motionless. I look at the clock: it's 1 o'clock now. 15 minutes. I go further, to where there are many officers, and look at the battleship Queen Elizabeth, which is about 500 meters from us.

The crew of the Queen Elizabeth gathered at the bow of the ship. A few seconds passed, and an explosion also occurred on it, with which the ship was lifted several centimeters out of the water, a column of smoke shot up, debris scattered, splashes of oil flew up to us, soiling our clothes. An officer comes up to me and asks me to give him my word of honor that there are no more charges under the ship. I do not answer, and they again take me to the punishment cell, and fifteen minutes later they take me to the wardroom, where I can finally sit down. Bianchi is there too. After a while we are put on a boat and again taken to Ras El Tin.

I notice that the bow anchor, which was previously pulled into the hawse, is now given away. During the crossing, an officer asks me if we entered the port through the openings in the pier. In Ras El Tin, we were placed in different cells, where we were kept until the evening. I ask to be taken to the sun as I am cold. A soldier comes, feels my pulse and says that I am quite healthy.

Toward evening we are put on a truck and driven to a POW camp in Alexandria. In the camp we meet several Italians who heard the explosions in the morning. Hungry, we stretch out on the ground and, ignoring wet clothes, fall asleep. Because of a knee injury, I was placed in the medical unit, where the orderlies, Italians, treated me to excellent pasta. The next morning they brought me to Cairo.

In 1944, when de la Penne and Bianchi returned from captivity, they were awarded gold medals "For Courage". And do you know who pinned that medal to de la Penne's chest? Admiral Morgan, former commander of the battleship Valient, and in 1944 head of the naval allied mission in Italy.

Marchella - Skergat. Following along with de la Penne along the indicated route, they noticed that at about midnight the entrance lights in the port were lit. In all likelihood, at this moment the ships entered or left the port. There were strong shocks on the body of the torpedo, as if from a collision with some kind of metal obstacle, and cramps in the legs of the drivers - the results of underwater explosions of depth charges that the enemy dropped at the entrance to the port to avoid "unwanted visits". Approaching the gates of the port, they noted with pleasure that the barriers were moved apart. A little later, at about one in the morning, they had to hastily step aside to make way for the three destroyers entering the port. Marchella was on course again, and soon the outline of a target appeared in front of him. He approached the anti-torpedo net, climbed over it and dived without hindrance at the very hull of the ship, parallel to the chimney. With the help of a second driver, or rather a diver, he did the following maneuver: he stretched the cable from one side keel of the ship to another and secured the ends, and then hung the torpedo charging compartment in the middle, having previously disconnected it so that it was one and a half meters under the hull , then started the fuse's clock mechanism. Time 3 hours 15 minutes. (Italian).

“I’m trying to figure out my feelings. I’m not excited, I’m just a little tired and starting to freeze. We sit down on the torpedo again. The diver urges me with signs to surface, because he can no longer remain under water. , then it starts to float - slowly at first, then faster and faster. In order not to jump out of the water, we have to bleed air. Air bubbles attract the attention of the watchman at the stern of the ship. He turns on the searchlight, and we fall into a strip of light. We lean forward to us it was harder to see and the goggles of the masks didn't shine. Soon the spotlight goes out. We start on our way back. Everything is calm on the ship. I see the light of a lit cigarette - someone is walking around the deck. We get out of the net barriers and finally take off the masks. It's very cold, I literally don’t get a tooth on a tooth.We stop again and scatter incendiary bombs, having previously started the igniter mechanism I" .

Marcheglia and Skergat then proceeded to the place they had been directed to go ashore. According to available data, it was considered less guarded and from there it was easier to get into the city.

Not far from the coast, they sank their torpedo, turning on the destruction mechanism. We swam to the shore. Here they took off their oxygen breathing apparatus and rubber suits and hid them under stones, after cutting them into pieces. Time 16 o'clock. 30 min. After eight hours in the water, they are finally on land.

Marchelier and Skergat managed to get out of the port unnoticed. Posing as French sailors, they entered the city of Alexandria. Not without incident, we reached the railway station in order to board the train to Rosetta, and then try to get on the submarine, which was supposed to be at sea, 10 miles from the coast, at the appointed time, that is, within a few hours after the operation . But here they ran into their first difficulty.

The British pounds sterling with which they were supplied did not circulate in Egypt. Having lost a lot of time to exchange money, they could only leave by the evening train. In Rosetta, we spent the night in some shabby hotel, eluding police control. In the evening of the next day, they headed for the sea, but were detained by the Egyptian police. They were identified and handed over to the British naval authorities.

So their attempt to escape captivity was thwarted.

The operation carried out by Marcheglia can be called exemplary. Each of its phases was carried out by him in accordance with the plan, without any deviations. Subsequently, several years later, he wrote to me in one of his letters: “As you can see, commander, there was nothing heroic in our actions, success was due to preparation, the circumstances that were extremely favorable at the time of the operation, and above all the desire to fulfill at any cost assigned task."

This preparation, the desire to fulfill their duty at all costs and good luck were rewarded with a gold medal "For Bravery", presented to Marchella and Skergat upon their return from captivity.

Martellotta - Marino. In his memorandum, Martellotta writes:

On board the submarine Shire on December 18, 1941, at 4:30 p.m., I received an order from Commander Borghese to attack a large tanker and place 6 floating incendiary bombs in close proximity to it.

Information about the presence in the port of Alexandria of 12 tankers with a cargo of oil of about 120 thousand tons spoke of the extreme importance of the order I received. The resulting fire could grow to such a size that it would lead to the complete destruction of the port with all the ships and port facilities standing in it.

Nevertheless, I could not resist telling the commander that I would carry out the order, but that my diver and I would very much like to attack the warship. The submarine commander smiled at my request and, knowing about the impending return to port of the aircraft carrier, changed his order as follows: “Try to find the aircraft carrier in its usual places of parking; if he is there, then attack him, but if the aircraft carrier is not in the port, then do not touch other warships, but attack a large tanker and install 6 floating incendiary bombs near it.

Martellotta encountered difficulty in opening the cylinder cover and called Spaccarelli for help (because of this, the misfortune happened to Spaccarelli, which we described above). Finally, joining the other two crews, he made it to the net barriers with them. “I hear underwater explosions, I feel how my legs are strongly squeezed, as if they were pressed by something to the body of the torpedo. I put on a mask and, in order to avoid the harmful effects of often repeated explosions on the most vulnerable parts of the body, I sit down bent over so that I do not protrude too much from the water, but with the expectation that my chest and head are out. I tell my diver Marino to also put on a mask and take the same pose as me, but sitting facing the stern, since I could not follow what was happening behind, because I had to look ahead, and the view was in the mask was limited.

So we got to the entrance to the port. There, contrary to expectations, we did not meet barriers: they were moved apart.

We are slowly moving forward. Suddenly the diver Marino pats me on the shoulder and says: “Right rudder”. I immediately turn to the right and increase speed, but the wave from the ship entering the port nailed the torpedo to the barriers. This is a destroyer that goes without lights at a speed of about 10 knots. I distinctly hear the rattling of the chain on the prow and make out the people on deck, busy preparing to anchor. Zero hour. 30 min. December 19th. I move off and, taking advantage of the wave from the second destroyer, following the first, I enter the port, passing about twenty meters from the patrol boat.

In the port of Martellotta, he tried to find the aircraft carrier in the places of its usual anchorages, but did not find it (and indeed, that night the aircraft carrier was not in the port).

But he discovered a large warship and, mistaking it for a battleship, decided to attack, but, coming close, he was convinced that it was a cruiser. Remembering the order, Martellotta reluctantly refused to attack. When he moved away from the stern of the cruiser, from the side of the ship he was suddenly illuminated by a pocket flashlight. A few moments of absolute immobility, when even the heart seemed to stop. Then the flashlight went out, and Martellotta headed for the port area where the tankers were. Fatigue began to take its toll, causing headaches and nausea. The driver can no longer use an oxygen breathing device, takes off his mask and continues his journey with his head above the water. Here are the tankers, among which one has a large carrying capacity - at least 16 thousand tons. Not being able to go under water, Martellotta decides to attack without diving. While he holds the torpedo under the stern of the tanker, Marino's diver attaches the charging compartment under the ship's hull. At 2 hours 55 minutes, the fuse's clockwork is wound up. While all these manipulations were being done, next to the large tanker was another, smaller one. If he stands here for three hours, then, along with the first one, he will suffer in the explosion. Then, incendiary bombs were placed 100 meters from the tanker at a distance of 20 meters from one another.

Having thus completed the task, Martellotta and Marino made an attempt to escape so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. Having destroyed oxygen devices and rubber suits and turned on the self-destruct mechanism of the torpedo, they got out on land at the indicated place. “Together with Marino, I tried to leave the port and enter the city. At the entrance we were stopped and detained by Egyptian officials and policemen, who then called the lieutenant with six soldiers of the English marines. We were taken to a room where there were two senior lieutenants of the Egyptian police, who began the interrogation. While I was answering questions in the most evasive and vague way, an English captain of the 2nd rank appeared and demanded from the senior Egyptian officer that we be handed over to him. The Egyptian refused, citing a lack of orders from his government. From our documents it was clear that we were Italians, and the fact that Egypt was not at war with Italy did not allow her to do so without special instructions.

The British officer, having received the sanction of the admiralty, personally approached the Egyptian government and succeeded in having us handed over to him.

My underwater watch is on the table, along with other items taken from the search, and I keep my eyes on them. About 5 o'clock. 54 minutes, a strong explosion was heard, from which the whole house trembled. Some time later, when we, accompanied by an English officer, got into the car, a second explosion was heard, more distant, and later, when the car had already started, a third. At the Naval Headquarters in Ras El Tin, we underwent a brief interrogation, which took place in a rather gracious tone, and then we were sent to the Cairo prisoner of war camp.

Martellotta and Marino, upon their return from captivity, were also awarded gold medals “For Bravery”.

War Report No. 585 of 8 January 1942 reported on the success of the operation as a whole as follows: “On the night of 18 December, Royal Navy assault weapons, penetrating the port of Alexandria, attacked two British battleships anchored. The available information confirms that the Valient-class battleship is badly damaged and docked for repairs, where it is currently located.

The following report, No. 586 of January 9, supplemented this message in the following way: “According to updated data, during the operation carried out by the assault means of the Royal Navy, as indicated in yesterday’s report, in addition to the battleship Valient, a battleship of the “Valient” type was also damaged. Barham".

Thus, very modestly, a naval victory was reported, which cannot be compared in its strategic results to any other in the course of the war; at the cost of six prisoners, a large tanker was sunk, and most importantly, two battleships with a displacement of 32 thousand tons each, the last of those that the British had in the Mediterranean, were put out of action for a long time. Damaged by the explosions of the torpedo charging compartments, which the brave men of the 10th flotilla attached with their own hands, the ships were subsequently raised, somehow patched up and sent to the rear shipyards for final repairs. However, they never entered service during the war, and when it ended, they were scrapped.

The loss of the ships "Valient" and "Queen Elizabeth" following the death of the "Ark Royal" and "Barham" in the Mediterranean Sea almost simultaneously with the destruction of the "Repulse" and the newest "Prince of Wales" in Indonesia as a result of a Japanese air raid put the English Navy for a long time in a very a difficult situation, from which he managed to get out later only thanks to American help.

The strategic situation in the Mediterranean theater changed radically: for the first (and last) time in the course of the war, the Italian Navy had a decisive superiority in forces; he was able to resume the supply of his expeditionary forces and organize the transfer of the German African Corps to Libya, which made it possible a few months later to defeat the British army and push it outside Cyrenaica.

Great opportunities opened up: our superiority at sea at that time was such that it allowed our armed forces to strike at a key position on which the outcome of the struggle in the Mediterranean depended (and, perhaps, not only in the Mediterranean), that is, Malta .

The landing troops deployed under the protection of the Italian fleet, including all our ships of the line (whereas the British had none), could eliminate the enemy base located in the very heart of the Mediterranean Sea, which both before and after caused us so much harm. Thus, it was possible to eliminate the difficulty that for so many months had prevented the Italian fleet from carrying out a regular supply of our army in Africa.

Taking into account the ratio of naval forces, this operation would no doubt be successful, although it would probably be accompanied by significant losses. Thus, after the elimination of the threat on the flank of our lines of communication passing through the Mediterranean Sea, the capture of Egypt, with all the ensuing favorable consequences, became only a matter of time.

The responsibility for the fact that this opportunity has remained unused falls, in my opinion, on the Italian General Staff, and even more so on the German High Command, which, by denying us oil and planes, so much needed, “once again demonstrated his underestimation of the role of naval forces in the conduct of hostilities, and in particular his underestimation of the importance of the Mediterranean theater of operations during the entire war.

The great victory at Alexandria was thus only partially exploited: the enemy had time to bring naval and air reinforcements into the Mediterranean, and a few months later the situation changed again, no longer in our favor. Then it worsened more and more, until the final defeat followed, which became obvious after the evacuation from North Africa(May 1943).

How serious the position of the enemy was and how close we were to winning a decisive victory after a daring attack on Alexandria, Winston Churchill, the man who directed the course of the war from the opposite side, said best. In his speech delivered at a secret meeting in the House of Commons on April 23, 1942, announcing the loss of the ships Ark Royal, Barham, Repulse, Prince of Wales, he said:

“We have just suffered another insidious blow. At dawn on December 18, six Italians dressed in unusual diving suits were detained in the port of Alexandria. Before that, all precautions were taken against entering the port various types“human torpedoes” and one-man submarines that have previously tried to enter our ports. There were not only nets and other barriers, but depth charges were dropped systematically, at various time intervals, in the immediate vicinity of the harbor entrance.

Despite this, the Italians managed to get into the port. Under the keel of the battleships "Valient" and "Queen Elizabeth" there were explosions caused by charges attached with extraordinary courage and skill. As a result of these explosions, huge holes were formed in the hull of the ships and several compartments were flooded. The ships were disabled for several months. One of the battleships will soon be repaired, the other is still in a floating dock in Alexandria, a tempting target for enemy aircraft.

Thus, we do not have a single ship of the line in the Mediterranean: the Barham is sunk, and the Valient and Queen Elizabeth are completely disabled. Both of these ships, being on an even keel, seem to be serviceable from the air. The enemy for some time was not firmly convinced of the successful results of the attack. (The Italian military reports cited above refute this assertion. - Note author ..) Only now I find it appropriate to report this to the House of Commons in a secret meeting.

The Italian fleet has four or five more battleships, which have been under repair several times. Among them are new-built battleships of the Littorio type and modernized other types. To protect the Nile Valley from the sea, we still have submarines, destroyers, cruisers and, of course, aircraft air force. Therefore, it is necessary to transfer part of our aircraft carriers and aircraft from the southern and eastern coasts of England to the North African coast, where they are most urgently needed.

Rewarding me with the military order of the Savoy Cross, which I was personally granted by the king for the operation in Alexandria, was motivated as follows:

"The commander of the submarine assigned to the 10th MAC flotilla for operations with special assault equipment, having successfully carried out three difficult and courageous operations, skillfully and carefully prepared the fourth, directed against one of the enemy bases. Courageously and calmly overcoming all obstacles, he approached the submarine boat to a heavily guarded port and, having deceived the vigilance of the enemy, managed to provide the most favorable conditions for attacking the base.

Battleships of the Queen Elizabeth class - description and summary, author Mikhailov Andrey, read for free online on the website electronic library website

At first, in the UK, many were opposed to a completely new type of battleship. Their construction required a lot of money, besides, after their construction, most of the linear fleet of the most powerful maritime power in the world would immediately become obsolete.

Nevertheless, the decision was made very quickly, especially thanks to Admiral John Fisher, who made every effort to ensure that some other state did not get ahead of Great Britain in any innovations introduced in the navy. In record time, a project was drawn up and construction began on the battleship Dreadnought (Fearless). This ship, launched on February 10, 1906, had the characteristics of all later battleships, which became known as "dreadnoughts". With a displacement of 18000 tons, he, with the help of steam turbines, developed a speed of 21 knots and had a unified armament of ten 305-mm guns. To repel attacks by destroyers at short distances, 12-pounder guns were added to them.