Human Torpedo SLC (Maiale) in Taormina

There is an interesting attraction in the Taormina city Park: the underwater vehicle SLC (Siluro a lenta corsa, slow-moving torpedo), developed in 1936 by young Naval engineers Theseo Thesei and Emilio Toschi. It is a torpedo with a length of 6.7 meters, a diameter of 533 mm and a displacement of 1.5 tons, equipped with batteries and an electric motor with a power of 1.1 hp. A warhead weighing up to 300 kg was placed in the nose of the torpedo. The torpedo had two seats for the crew, controls and navigation, as well as cylinders for breathing devices with an oxygen reserve for 6 hours. The torpedo could dive to a depth of 30 meters, where it moved at speeds up to 4.5 knots and had a range of up to 15 miles (at a speed of 2.3 knots). The tests were successful, and in 1940 the device was put into production and crew training began. By 1943, more than 800 torpedoes were built, which received the unofficial name Maiale (piglet) in the navy. The torpedoes were delivered to the site of the attack by a submarine in two airtight containers fixed on the deck. The boat landed the saboteurs, they pulled torpedoes out of the containers and went to the target in a semi-submerged state. In case of danger of detection, the devices could quickly disappear into the depths. In the underwater position, the device approached the target, where the crew detached the warhead and attached it to the bottom of the ship using magnets. Then the clockwork mechanism of the warhead was triggered (up to 5 o'clock) and the saboteurs set off on their way back. The combat training of the SLC did not bring the desired results - two carrier submarines were sunk by the British, the operation in Gibraltar on October 29, 1940 failed due to technical failures. However, the setbacks did not stop the Italians, and on December 18, 1941, a major victory was won in the Egyptian port of Alexandria: two British battleships Queen Elisabeth and Vaiant, the tanker Sagona and the destroyer Jervis were sunk. On December 7, 1942, another unsuccessful attack was launched on Gibraltar to destroy the aircraft carrier Furrious, resulting in the death of diving Sergeant Salvatore Leone, who was born in Taormina in 1916. He was posthumously awarded the medal "For Military Merit", and this monument was erected on the fiftieth anniversary of his death..