The Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori "Teseo Tesei" (COMSUBIN) is the elite unit of the Italian Navy, composed of the "Gruppo Operativo Subacquei" (G.O.S.) and the "Gruppo Operativo Incursori" (G.O.I.), Special Forces units.
Founded in 1952, in its current organization since 1960, it is named after Major Teseo Tesei, Gold Medal for Military Valor. COMSUBIN reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Navy, under the leadership of an admiral officer.
It is based in Le Grazie, in the ancient fortress of Varignano. Originally built as a lazaretto, in 1888 it became the Command of the local Maritime Defense and, subsequently, the school of the Royal Navy Crew Corps for the torpedo and radiotelegraphist categories.
In 1910, Varignano became the headquarters of the divers of the Royal Navy, with the transfer of the historic Diving School, founded in Genoa in 1849. Later, in 1952, it became the base of the raiders, a new category created to continue the tradition of the Navy's assault craft fighters and to preserve the skills acquired during World War II.
The barracks is named after Major of the Naval Engineering Teseo Tesei.
History
The first diving school, founded in Genoa in 1849, was transferred to Varignano in 1910, where it combined underwater capabilities with skills in neutralizing explosive devices.
The training of the first underwater assault groups dates back to World War I, when the Royal Navy used means such as the MAS and the Rossetti self-propelled torpedo (known as "mignatta"), from which the famous slow-running torpedo, or "maiale," was derived.
These means allowed Italian raiders to carry out memorable actions against the Austro-Hungarian fleet, including the famous Premuda enterprise.
A fundamental role was also played by Naval Engineering officer Armando Andri, who in 1921 conducted the first recovery of a battleship, the Leonardo da Vinci, in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto, an operation that marked an important milestone in underwater operations.
The category of divers was formally established in 1933 with a law that amended the ordinance of the Royal Maritime Crew Corps (CREM).
However, the origin of the COMSUBIN Raiders lies in the 1930s, when experiments with special assault means and underwater equipment, such as rebreathers and wetsuits, began.
In 1938, the first assault craft unit was created, called "Comando dei Mezzi d'Assalto," which became the Iª Flottiglia MAS, later transformed, in 1941, into the famous Xª Flottiglia MAS.
In 1939, the "Scuola Sommozzatori" was established in Livorno, at the Naval Academy. Founded by Angelo Belloni, inventor of the oxygen rebreather (ARO), the school trained officers and non-commissioned officers in the use of these devices and selected them to operate in specialized units, such as the Gamma men or the operators of the slow-running torpedoes (SLC).
The raiders destined for the SLC were secretly trained at the Bocca di Serchio base, where they developed the skills necessary to use these means and covertly place explosive charges under enemy ships.
World War II
During World War II (1940-1943), the Flottiglie MAS of the Royal Navy performed remarkable feats, sinking over 72,190 tons of war shipping and 130,572 tons of merchant shipping.
Among the most important actions was the Enterprise of Alexandria in 1941, when six Italian raiders penetrated the port of Alexandria, Egypt, sinking the British battleships Valiant and Queen Elizabeth.
For these feats, numerous decorations were awarded, including the Gold Medal for Military Valor to the standard of the Xª Flottiglia MAS.
The GNP units
In 1941, the Royal Navy created a "Guastatori" unit in Pola, integrated by battalions of "Swimmers" and "Paratroopers," intended for the invasion of Malta. Although the operation did not materialize, these specialists were employed in Provence and Corsica in 1942.
In April 1943, they were gathered in Livorno in the Swimmers Paratroopers Battalion Group, under the command of frigate captain Carlo Simen, under the dependencies of Generalmas.
After the armistice
After the armistice of September 8, 1943, a unit of the Kingdom of the South called Mariassalto Taranto was reorganized in Taranto, under the command of frigate captain Ernesto Forza, former commander of the Decima Flottiglia MAS. Operators such as Antonio Marceglia and Luigi Durand de La Penne, repatriated in 1944 after being prisoners of the British, joined this unit.
The unit participated in several operations alongside the allies, including the sinking of the cruiser Bolzano in 1944 and the incomplete aircraft carrier Aquila in Genoa in 1945, to prevent its use by the Germans.
Meanwhile, in the Italian Social Republic, other members of the Xª Flottiglia MAS, under the command of Junio Valerio Borghese, continued to operate under the RSI flag. Despite the German occupation, Borghese maintained a certain operational autonomy, with the tricolor continuing to fly over their base.
Gruppo Arditi Incursori
In 1952, after the lifting of the Paris Treaty restrictions, the Italian Navy created the Gruppo Arditi Incursori under the command of Lieutenant Aldo Massarini, incorporating experiences gained from the divers and sappers of the Gruppo Gamma. The group, under the control of Maricentrosub, was reorganized under the guidance of Admiral Gino Birindelli and in 1956 took the name MariSubArdIn, distinguishing itself for training in maritime and mountain operations, including parachute activities from 1962.
The establishment of COMSUBIN
In 1959, the MariSubArdIn command became MaricenSubIn, marking the continuous evolution of the unit, until reaching its final organization on February 15, 1960, with the birth of COMSUBIN, Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei ed Incursori “Teseo Tesei”. The command's emblem, represented by a caiman, honors the Arditi of the First World War known as the "Black Caimans of the Piave".
One of the most significant episodes highlighting the effectiveness of COMSUBIN was the rapid intervention during the Florence flood of 1966, where the raiders provided vital aid to the population, earning the silver medal for civil valor.
Operations abroad
On December 30, 1985, the Special Operational Groups (GOS) were established, of which COMSUBIN was part with a quota of the Col Moschin raiders, to conduct operations under the coordination of SISMI. Subsequently, the operators of the Gruppo Operativo Incursori (GOI) took part in delicate missions worldwide, including the recovery of Italian citizens in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide and the peacekeeping operation in East Timor in 1999.
Between 2001 and 2005, the GOI raiders were deployed in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, with continuous detachments in the Task Force 45 until 2012.
The GOS operators were also protagonists in the recovery of the Costa Concordia after the 2012 shipwreck.
Since 2016, the GOI of COMSUBIN has collaborated with AISE for confidential out-of-area missions, maintaining a strategic role in delicate and highly confidential operations on an international scale.
Organization
The unit commander is usually a rear admiral, and under his direct command are the commanders of the GOI (Gruppo Operativo Incursori) and the GOS (Gruppo Operativo Subacquei).
Under the command of the Raggruppamento depend:
- Headquarters: ensures services and maintains the efficiency of the Command, allowing the groups to carry out their missions.
- Gruppo Operativo Incursori (GOI): the only Special Forces unit of the Italian Navy, heir to the men of the Navy's assault vehicles.
- Gruppo Operativo Subacquei (GOS): a specialized unit that includes divers and frogmen, underwater operators with the most advanced diving capabilities, deriving from a tradition of about 170 years in the Navy.
- Special Naval Group: responsible for naval units, including:
- Anteo
- Cabrini and Tedeschi
- motorboats Pedretti and Marino and other minor vessels.
- Training Group, divided into:
- divers school
- raiders school
- school of underwater and hyperbaric medicine.
- Study Office: a center dedicated to the technological development of materials and means used by the operators of the operational groups.
Gruppo Operativo Incursori – GOI
The GOI (Gruppo Operativo Incursori) is the attack unit specialized in special operations, and is part of the recognized Italian special forces, under the operational command of the COFS (Joint Command for Special Forces Operations). The GOI operates alongside other Italian special units, including:
- 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin" - Italian Army
- 4th Paratroopers Alpini Regiment - Italian Army
- 185th Reconnaissance and Target Acquisition Regiment (RRAO) "Folgore" - Italian Army
- Special Intervention Group (GIS) - Carabinieri
- 17th Raiders Wing - Italian Air Force
The GOI works closely with the Eliassalto Unit for airborne operations and plays offensive roles, in line with its operational doctrine, aimed at defending national interests, even beyond Italian borders. The GOI personnel is composed exclusively of professionals, subjected to extremely tough, selective, and thorough training to ensure high operational standards.
Underwater Operations Group – GOS
The Underwater Operations Group (GOS) is a specialist force of the Italian Navy, tasked with conducting complex underwater operations. It specializes in clearing mines and unexploded ordnance at sea, technical interventions at great depths, and rescue and technical support to submarine crews.
The divers and frogmen of the GOS are responsible for the underwater defense of the Navy units in port, conducting anti-sabotage operations against potential hostile incursions, inspecting ship hulls for ordnance, and participating in significant underwater missions, such as inspections of sunken wrecks.
The GOS is part of the Underwater and Raiders Group "Teseo Tesei" and shares its headquarters at the Varignano promontory, in the municipality of Portovenere (La Spezia). It is commanded by a senior officer, usually of a rank not lower than frigate captain.
The Navy divers are the Italian reference point for doctrine and equipment in the field of diving. The GOS is often called upon to intervene in civil protection operations as well. Among their most significant missions:
- On December 24, 1978, they intervened to recover the wreckage of the plane that crashed near Punta Raisi (Palermo), which had crashed into the sea on the night between December 22 and 23, causing the death of 108 people.
- On January 13, 2012, they were the first to intervene in the wreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, opening passages with explosive charges on the semi-capsized hull to allow the search for survivors.
The GOS is capable of operating up to 300 meters deep, using integrated systems on the Special Naval Group ships, with the aid of helium-oxygen breathing mixtures and saturation diving techniques. Rescue of distressed submarines is carried out using the McCann Bell up to 130 meters, a Drass-Galeazzi SRV-300 mini-submarine, or dives with articulated rigid diving suits (ADS) up to 300 meters.
The Diving School
The COMSUBIN Diving School is the heir of the "Diving School", founded in Genoa on July 24, 1849, on the initiative of General Enrico Morozzo della Rocca, then Minister of War and Navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Initially, the institute trained personnel capable of operating with a diving helmet at 10 meters depth for over three hours. In 1934, the school was moved to the San Bartolomeo Arsenal in La Spezia.
During the two world wars, the divers carried out operations to recover sunken hulls. After World War II, the Diving School was merged with the Livorno Diving School, giving rise to the MARICENTROSUB in Varignano.
In the following years, the divers contributed to the removal of naval wrecks and the clearing of mines and ordnance, experience that has favored the development of modern Underwater Units. In 1954, the diving school was reorganized within the Underwater Group.
The school selects and trains divers and frogmen of the Navy, as well as training underwater operators for all Armed Forces and police forces.
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