The Black Prince and the Sea Devils

The name SVAN was also used occasionally, since the craft were built by the SVAN company.

The early small torpedo boats were studied in several countries, including France and Britain, and Italy produced the first model around 1906.

As with many interesting technical developments of World War I, Italy’s special assault craft had been left aside for years.

The Italians developed—as later happened in other navies, including the British, German, and Japanese—what had been one of the main war devices in the Russo-Turkish war: the very small and fast boat armed with torpedoes, better known by Americans after World War II as the PT boat.

Valerio Borghese

Valerio Borghese

During the Italo-Ethiopian War, on November 27, 1935, Admiral Aimone D’Aosta proposed the use of explosive boats that could be transported some 10 miles from the target with the model Savoia Marchetti SM.55

Only 12 were fitted to launch two torpedoes. The armament of the boats varied and would be changed from time to time from torpedo to antisubmarine use. It included machine guns, 47 mm, 57 mm, and 76 mm guns, one or two towed torpedoes, and ship-mounted torpedoes.5

In 1917, an additional 100 MAS were ordered, and these were also used for attacks against Austro-Hungarian bases. Of the 244 MAS employed during the war by the Italians, 38 were equipped with electrical engines that allowed them to be more silent and stealthy.