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Great and Bold World War II Raids

Khalid Elhassan January 3, 2025 16 min

Raid - Italian frogmen in manned torpedoes launched from submarine near Alexandria Harbor, by Ivan Berryman. World Naval Ships

15. Riding Manned Torpedoes

The Italian manned torpedoes were 22-feet-long, battery powered, with a speed of 2.5 miles, a range of 10 miles, a submersible depth of about 100 feet, and a detachable 660 pound explosive charge. On December 19^th, 1941, the submarine carrying the manned torpedoes got to within a mile and a half of Alexandria’s harbor, then launched the frogmen on their way. Through aerial reconnaissance and agents in Alexandria, the Italians had an accurate picture of the harbor’s defenses. It included shore artillery and machinegun emplacements, minefields, net barriers, and intense patrolling on water as well as ashore. The sole entrance was sealed with an antisubmarine net that was only removed to allow authorized vessels to enter or exit the harbor.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.