Mario Marino (27 March 1914 in

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

– 11 May 1982 in Salerno) was an Italian sailor of the

Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...

during World War Two. As a diver and human-torpedo operator with the

Decima Flottiglia MAS The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Torpedo-Armed Motorboat Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with marines and commando frogman unit, of ...

, he won the

Gold Medal of Military Valour The Gold Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The face of the medal displayed the profile o ...

for the Raid on Alexandria on 19 December 1941. A 97-ton submarine-support speedboat of the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

launched in 1984 is named after him.

Life

He volunteered for the navy in January 1934 and was assigned to the diving division, attending the Scuola C.R.E.M. at Varignano near

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

. At the end of the course he was assigned to the naval command at

Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...

. He then joined the destroyer ''Freccia'' and in 1936 the submarine ''H6'', attended the first diving course and took part in the first experiments in exiting a submerged submarine. At the end of the course he took part in the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. In 1938 he took part in the Corso per Alti Fondali in deep-sea diving and on 4 June 1940 he joined the ''Titano'' and the 1ª Flottiglia MAS as an assault-submarine operator, taking part in missions with the MAS. In May 1941 he rose to the

non commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

rank of 2º Capo Palombaro Sommozzatore and on the night of 25–26 July 1941 he took part in a raid on a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

base on

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

as second operator to Vincenzo Martellotta. On the night of 18–19 December 1941 he was Martellotta's second operator again, this time on the Siluro Lenta Corsa ''SLC 222'', during the raid on Alexandria which severely damaged two battleships, a tanker and a destroyer. Marino and Martellotta were both captured after the action but Marino was released in October 1944 to join the Mariassalto fighting alongside the Allies. In 1949 Marino was promoted to Capo di 1ª Classe Palombaro and in 1962 he was put in command of the Gruppo S.D.A.I. at La Spezia at the rank of sottotenente, a post he held until he was shifted to the reserves in March 1977 at the rank of Capitano di Corvetta.

External links

Ministero di Difesa - Medaglie d'oro al V.M. - La II Guerra Mondiale: Mario Marino, Capo Palombaro di 3a Classe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marino, Mario 1914 births 1982 deaths People from Salerno Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Regia Marina personnel of World War II