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Two-man craft designed to penetrate protected harbours and attack enemy shipping
The Siluro a lenta Corsa (SLC) or slow course torpedo, also known as the Maiale or Pig was designed by the Italians in the late 1930s using the knowledge they had gained while pioneering midget submarines and special assault craft during the First World War. It was powered by an electric motor and it had a charge-head containing 550lb (250kg) of TNT. The early SLC served as a model for the British “Chariot”.
Between 1941 and the Italian armistice of 1943 “human torpedoes” scored a number of successes against allied shipping. Their most famous attack came in 1941 in Alexandria harbour when three of them seriously damaged the British battleships Valiant and Queen Elisabeth.
This one of the later streamlined craft wich fell into British hands after the occupation of Genoa in April 1945.
Technical specifications:
CREW: Two
ENGINE: 1.6hp electric motor with self-contained batteries
PERFORMANCE:
Range/speed:
15 miles (24km) at 2.3 knots
4 miles (6 km) at 4,5 knots
ARMAMENT: 550lb (250kg) high explosive
