Gino Birindelli

In 1925, he was admitted to the Italian Naval Academy and in 1930, he became sub-lieutenant of the Regia Marina. Assigned to submarines, he commanded Dessie and, after, Rubino. After the degree in civil engineering from University of Pisa in 1937, in 1939, he was a trainer for frogmen commandos and human torpedoes and was sent to the V Flottiglia MAS.^[1]

On 21 October 1940, the submarine Sciré departed La Spezia and sailed to Gibraltar carrying three manned torpedoes and four crews. The Decima MAS frogmen, commanded by Birindelli, entered the harbour but were unable to attack any ships due to technical problems with the torpedoes and breathing equipment. Only one human torpedo managed to get close to a target, the battleship HMS Barham. The charge exploded but did not cause significant damage. The two crewmen, Birindelli and Damos Paccagnini, were captured by the British. The other four (including Teseo Tesei) managed to reach Spain and returned to Italy. Valuable experience was gained in this operation by the Decima. Gino Birindelli received the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare (MOVM), his second, Damos Paccagnini received the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare (MAVM). He remained a prisoner of the Allies until he was repatriated in 1944. After his release, he fought with the Italian Co-belligerent Navy against the Germans.^[2]