MAS (ship)

Motoscafo armato silurante (Italian: "torpedo armed motorboat"), commonly abbreviated as MAS was a class of fast torpedo armed vessel used by the Regia Marina (the Royal Navy of Italy) during World War I and World War II. Originally, "MAS" referred to motobarca armata SVAN ("armed motorboat SVAN"), where SVAN stood for Società Veneziana Automobili Navali ("Naval Automobile Society of Venice).

MAS were essentially motorboats with displacements of 20–30 tonnes (depending on the class), a 10-man crew, and armament composed of two torpedoes, machine guns and occasionally a light gun.

The term "MAS" is an acronym for Mezzi d'Assalto, ("assault vehicles") in the unit name Flottiglia MAS ("assault vehicles flotilla"), the most famous of which was the Decima MAS of World War II.

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 petrol engines which were compact and reliable (characteristics which were not common at the time) . They were used not only in the anti-submarine patrol role, but also for daring attacks against major units of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

A significant success came in December 1917, when an MAS boat managed to sink the pre-dreadnought battleship SMS Wien in Trieste harbor. The greatest success of Italian MAS was the sinking of the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István off Pula on 10 June 1918 by a boat commanded by Luigi Rizzo. MAS boats later engaged in the Second Battle of Durazzo in October 1918.

In 1926, four MAS boats were built for and purchased by the Royal Albanian Navy. They were named Tirana, Saranda, Durres, and Vlorë. During the Italian invasion of Albania they were seized and put into service by Italian forces. All survived World War II and in 1945 were returned to Albania.

...
Wikipedia