Panerai Corner

Panerai in war

Radiomir watches, Panerai compass and depth gauge have been protagonists of important events of different wars. 



Here we mention one of extraordinary importance.



During the Second World War, one Radiomir watch was worn by the Assaulters of the Xa Flottiglia MAS and the Gamma Unit.

Along with a Panerai compass and depth gauge, they were worn by Luigi Durand De La Penne, Gold Medal for Military Valor, and by his second-in-command Emilio Bianchi, Gold Medal for Military Valor, one of the three pairs of Assaulters of the Xa Flottiglia MAS of the Royal Navy, who, on board an SLC (the acronym stands for
slow travelling torpedo) in December 1941 (the night between December 18th and 19th) launched an attack against the British Navy in the fortified port of Alexandria, in Egypt, sinking the two flagships of the British fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.



The operation should have been accomplished by 3 slow travelling torpedoes (SLC), commonly known as “maiali” (pigs), each one carrying two crew members, who had to enter the port of Alexandria and place one explosive charge each on the assigned target.

The operation was initiated from La Spezia, from which the Scirè
submarine left and On December 18th, the submarine was in front of the port of Alexandria and, as darkness set in, the operation could begin.


Each of the three commandos had to get under the keel of their own targets, place the explosive charge, then leave the area and move ashore.



The three crews, on their crafts were commanded by Lieutenant Luigi Durand De La Penne, the captain of the Naval Engineers Antonio Marceglia and the Captain of the Naval Arms Vincenzo Martellotta, assisted by the head divers Emilio Bianchi and Mario Marino and leading seaman Spartaco Schergat.
The operations were carried out by the three crews with great difficulty but were brilliantly accomplished.



Despite having been taken prisoners and held on the ship, HMS VALIANT, they had just mined, De La Penne and Bianchi refused to provide information about the location of the explosive charges. Just a few minutes before the explosion, Lieutenant De La Penne asked to meet the captain and told him the explosion was about to go off and the crew needed to be saved. Despite this, he was taken back to a room below the waterline, from which, however, he was lucky enough to escape after the terrible explosion.

You can find complete information about the history of Panerai in the limited edition : Panerai Watches from 1936 to 1997 & Panerai in Florence