CA class midget submarine
Encyclopedia
The CA class were a group of midget submarine
s built for the Italian Navy
during World War II.
Company and built in great secrecy. They were originally designed for coast defence but later modified as clandestine attack craft similar to the British X craft.
The Second Batch also consited of two boats built to a slightly mofied design in 1942
commander of the Decima MAS, the Italian Navy's special operations unit devised a plan to attack New York Harbour using a CA type midget submarine and commando frogmen. The midget submarine would be transported across the Atlantic by being carried on the deck of a larger submarine. The Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci
was chosen for the task and modified at the Italian base in Bordeaux (BETASOM
). The CA-2 midget was transported by rail from Italy and trials were conducted near La Pallice supervised by Borghese himself during late 1942. The Leonardo Da Vinci was sunk in May 1943 before the operation could be carried out. No new boat was available and the Italian Armistice stopped further planning. see here for further details
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...
s built for the Italian Navy
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
during World War II.
Design
These submarines were designed by the CaproniCaproni
thumb|right|300px|[[Caproni Ca.316]] seaplane at its moorings.Caproni was an Italian aircraft manufacturer founded in 1908 by Giovanni Battista "Gianni" Caproni....
Company and built in great secrecy. They were originally designed for coast defence but later modified as clandestine attack craft similar to the British X craft.
Boats
The first batch consisted of two boats built in 1938-39:- CA 1 - Scuttled at La Spezia September 1943
- CA 2 - Transferred to Germany in 1943, Scuttled in Bordeaux 1944
The Second Batch also consited of two boats built to a slightly mofied design in 1942
- CA 3 - Scuttled at La Spezia September 1943
- CA 4 - Scuttled at La Spezia September 1943
Planned Operation Against New York
In 1942 after the USA entered the war Junio Valerio BorgheseJunio Valerio Borghese
Prince Junio Valerio Scipione Borghese was an Italian Navy commander during the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and was a prominent hard-line fascist politician in post-war Italy.-Early career:Junio Valerio Borghese was born in Artena, Province of Rome, Kingdom of Italy...
commander of the Decima MAS, the Italian Navy's special operations unit devised a plan to attack New York Harbour using a CA type midget submarine and commando frogmen. The midget submarine would be transported across the Atlantic by being carried on the deck of a larger submarine. The Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci
Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was a of the Italian navy during World War II. The unit operated in the Atlantic from September 1940 until its loss in May 1943, and became the top scoring non-German submarine of the all war.-Construction:...
was chosen for the task and modified at the Italian base in Bordeaux (BETASOM
BETASOM
BETASOM BETASOM BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of Bordeaux Sommergibile. was a submarine base established at Bordeaux by the Italian Regia Marina Italiana during World War II....
). The CA-2 midget was transported by rail from Italy and trials were conducted near La Pallice supervised by Borghese himself during late 1942. The Leonardo Da Vinci was sunk in May 1943 before the operation could be carried out. No new boat was available and the Italian Armistice stopped further planning. see here for further details