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Teseo Tesei | |
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| Born | 3 January 1909 Elba,Italy |
| Died | 26 July 1941(1941-07-26) (aged 32) Malta |
| Allegiance |  Italy |
| Service | Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) |
| Years of service | 1929–1941 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Decima Flottiglia MAS |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Gold Medal for Military Honor (posthumous) |
Teseo Tesei (3 January 1909 – 26 July 1941) was an Italian naval officer, who invented thehuman torpedo (calledMaiale, Italian for "pig") used by theRegia Marina during World War II.
Teseo Tesei was born in Marina di CampoElba in 1909, the son of Ulisse Tesei and Rosa Carassale. After attending theCollegio degli Scolopi inFlorence, he entered the Livorno Naval Academy in 1931, where he distinguished himself for perseverance and inventiveness. He wascommissioned as alieutenant and graduated from the Naval Engineering School in Naples in 1933.
Tesei had several posts on both surface ships and submarines. He was a volunteer in theSpanish Civil War with the rank of captain.
In 1929, Tesei had the idea for themanned torpedo, from the Italian device used to sink the Austrian battleshipSMSViribus Unitis duringWorld War I. In 1931 he entered theNaval Academy ofLivorno, where he showed his inventive capabilities. Together withElios Toschi, he designed ahuman torpedo calledSiluro a lenta corsa (SLC) ("Slow-Run Torpedo"), later nicknamed theMaiale, Italian for "pig", because it proved to be difficult to steer. The SLC was extensively used inWorld War II by the Italian Navy and was used in thesinking of two British battleships inAlexandria. The British later developed their own manned torpedo model, called "Chariot", from one of his captured "Maiali". In 1936, withAngelo Belloni he designed the high-performanceclosed-circuit self-contained breathing apparatus that was used by the Italian underwater raiders during their WWII operations, and that heavily influenced the following German and British wartime rebreathers design. In 1938 he was one of the officers who organized theDecima Flottiglia MAS underwater raiders unit of the Italian Navy. On 21 August 1940, Tesei was the only survivor when the Italian submarineIridewas sunk.
On 26 July 1941, Tesei died in action duringa manned torpedo attack onMalta (seeDecima Flottiglia MAS#1941), for which he was posthumously awarded the ItalianGold Medal of Military Valour.
The modernItalian commando frogmen group Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei ed Incursori Teseo Tesei (COMSUBIN) is named after him.
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