What is a human-operated torpedo? It is not remote control, but riding on the torpedo

Torpedoes are an indispensable and important weapon in modern naval warfare, especially in the period when anti-submarine technology was very limited. Torpedoes and submarines were simply nightmares for ships at sea.

During World War I alone, the German Empire used U-boats and torpedoes to sink more than 5,000 ships of the Allied Powers and neutral countries. There is no doubt that when submarines and torpedoes were first invented, they were the real overlords of the sea. Even today, torpedoes still play an important role in naval battles. Over the past 100 years, torpedoes have been constantly changing with the advancement of technology, but if you ask which torpedo is the most unique, it must be the "man-operated torpedo".

What is a manned torpedo? Generally speaking, a torpedo needs to be operated by a person, but the manned torpedo we are talking about does not refer to remote control, but rather a person actually riding on the torpedo to control it.

Has there ever been such a bizarre design for a torpedo? Not only has there been, but it has also demonstrated amazing power in naval battles. The manned torpedo was designed by the Italians and was first known in 1918, at the end of World War I. At that time, the Italians drove a manned torpedo into the Pula Bay and successfully blew up the flagship of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, the Vilipos. This was the first time that the manned torpedo showed its power in the world.

The manned torpedo designed by the Italians is called the "Leech" manned torpedo, which is driven by two frogmen riding on it. The reason why two frogmen are needed is that one person cannot complete the subsequent work.

When the two frogmen ride on the torpedo and lurk under the enemy ship, they will remove the head of the torpedo. This part is called the "warhead". The two frogmen will hang a rope on both sides of the keel at the bottom of the ship, and then hang the removed "warhead" on the rope and set the detonation time. At this point, the work is done, and finally they only need to ride the torpedo without the head and return home.

Although manned torpedoes demonstrated certain power at the end of World War I, the war ended quickly and they disappeared until the outbreak of World War II.

During World War II, the Italians got into trouble in the Mediterranean because they encountered the powerful British Navy, which reminded the Italians of their secret weapon, the manned torpedo. Soon, a new prototype of a manned torpedo was produced. The torpedo was 7.3 meters long, 0.5 meters wide, 1 meter high, weighed 1.5 tons, had a maximum speed of about 3 knots, and could carry two frogmen.

This newly manufactured manned torpedo prototype is indeed a bit unreliable, because the control system on the entire torpedo is exposed wire control, which makes the operation very unsmooth.

It was already very difficult to drive such a torpedo under the enemy ship, and it was basically impossible to drive it back, so many times, the frogmen on it swam back by themselves. In response to this problem, the Italians quickly made improvements, and an upgraded version of the manned torpedo appeared. Compared with the prototype, the upgraded version was larger and heavier, the control system was optimized, and the speed was increased to 4 knots. The biggest change in appearance was the addition of an open cockpit, which allowed the frogmen to sit in the cabin instead of riding.

The Italians' efforts were not in vain. On December 18, 1941, six Italian frogmen sneaked into the port of Alexandria in three upgraded manned torpedoes, quietly hung the warheads in front of the torpedoes on the bottom of the battleships Queen Elizabeth and Warrior, and then returned successfully.

In the early morning of the next day, three loud noises woke up the sleeping British marines and sent two battleships to the bottom of the sea. Thus, Italy temporarily stabilized the situation in the Mediterranean. It can be seen that although the manned torpedoes look funny, they are really a secret weapon that cannot be underestimated in the historical environment at that time.