Post Description

voor de liefhebbers van Poolse miniduikboot boekjes :)

aka Silent Enemy (1960)Milczacy wrog [Miniatury morskie 045]
by Jan Piwowoncki 

Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of rideable submarine used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic design is still in use today; they are a type of diver propulsion vehicle.

The name was commonly used to refer to the weapons that Italy, and later Britain, deployed in the Mediterranean and used to attack ships in enemy harbours. A group of a dozen countries used the human torpedo, from Italy and Great Britain to Argentina and Egypt, and there are some museums and movies dedicated to this naval weapon. The human torpedo concept is used recreationally for sport diving.

The first human torpedo (the Italian Maiale) was electrically propelled, with two crewmen in diving suits riding astride. They steered the torpedo at slow speed to the enemy ship. The detachable warhead was then used as a limpet mine. They then rode the torpedo away.

In operation, the Maiale torpedo was carried by another vessel (usually a normal submarine), and launched near the target. Most manned torpedo operations were at night and during the new moon to cut down the risk of being seen.

Publisher: Wydawnictwo Morskie
Series: Miniatury morskie - Epizody z Drugiej Wojny Swiatowej na Morzu
First published: 1960 
Language: Polish
Format: PDF 
Pages: 68
Size: 17 Mb

Thanks to Backfire66 & Starboard :)