Francesco Mattesini 
The assault ship of the X MAS Flotilla of the Italian Royal Navy [EPUB ebook] 

In World War I, the Italian Regia Marina, employed the first rudimentary assault craft in the Adriatic, achieving flattering successes. The experiences gained were then enhanced from 1935 onward when the Regia Marina resumed the study and construction of insidious offensive means, including the Long-Course Torpedoes (SLCs). Called vulgarly ‘Maiali’ (Pigs), the SLCs were later accompanied, by explosive barges, very fast MAS, special submarines. And still very effective departments of raiders, often dependent on the various MAS flotillas. Among them the Xa was the one that covered itself with greater glory in the attacks conducted on Gibraltar and Alexandria. In this book we tell the story of all these men and their special vehicles.