A MAS-15 of World War I.

Motoscafo Armato Silurante (Italian: "Torpedo Armed Motorboat", commonly abbreviated as MAS) was a class of fast armed vessel used by the Regia Marina during World War I and World War II. Originally, the acronym "MAS" referred to Motorbarca Armata SVAN ("Armed Motorboat SVAN"), where SVAN stood for Società Veneziana Automobili Navali (Naval Automobiles Society of Venice)^[1] The Italian Regia Marina (literally: Royal Navy) dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venezsia) is the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ...

MAS were essentially motorboats with displacement of 20-30 tonnes (depending from the class) with some 10 men of crew, with armament composed of two torpedoes, machine guns and occasionally a light gun. A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ...

World War I

MAS were widely employed by Regia Marina during World War I in 1915-1918. Models used were directly derived from compact civilian motorboats, provided with compact and reliable (characteristics wich were not common at the time) petrol engines. They were used both in the anti-submarine patrol role, but also for daring attacks against major units of the Austrian navy.

The greatest success of Italian MAS was the sinking of the battleship Szent István at Pula on June 10, 1918. SMS Szent István was an Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship, the only one operated by the Hungarian part of the empire. ... Pula (Croatia) Pula (Croatian Pula, Italian Pola; the city has an official Croatian-Italian bilingualism [1] - in Istriot Pula, German Polei, Slovenian Pulj) is the largest city in Istria, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the peninsula, with a population of 62,080 (2006). ... June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

World War II

Italian MAS continued to be improved after the end of World War I, thanks also to the availability of Isotta Fraschini engines. World War II MAS had a maximum speed of 45 knots, 2 450 mm torpedoes and one machine gun for anti-aircraft fire. In 1940 there were 48 MAS500-class units available. Old units were used in secondary theatres, such as the Africa Orientale Italiana. Image:Isotta Fraschini logo. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Italian East Africa (Italian: Africa Orientale Italiana) was an Italian colony in Africa. ...

Notable war actions performed by MAS include: torpedoing of the South African cruiser Capetown; the failed attack to the harbour of Malta in January 1941, which caused the loss of 2 motorboats; the sinking of several Soviet submarines in the Black Sea. NASA satellite image of the Black Sea Map of the Black Sea The Black Sea is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Anatolia that is actually a distant arm of the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Mediterranean Sea. ...

Obsolescence of small MAS was apparent during the conflict, and they were incresingly replaced by Yugoslavian torpedo boats built in Germany (classified "MS" - Moto Siluranti by the Regia Marina).

Trivia

The Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio used the MAS acronym for his Latin mot: Memento Audere Semper. Gabriele dAnnunzio (12 March 1863, Pescara – 1 March 1938, Gardone Riviera, province of Brescia) was an Italian poet, writer, novelist, dramatist and daredevil, who went on to have a controversial role in politics as a precursor of the fascist movement. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Notes

See also

• Decima Flottiglia MAS
• Motor Torpedo Boats