Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:43:29-1:48:43

How Italian MS boats inherited Schnellboot ideas

A question about the MS boats’ ancestry explains their indirect Schnellboot connection through captured Yugoslav craft and Italy’s need for a rounded, rough-water hull.

Ms BoatsNaval Technology TransferRegia MarinaSchnellbooteSeaworthinessShip DesignYugoslav Navy
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Question

Were Italy’s CRDA 60-ton MS boats related to German Schnellboot designs?

Short answer

Indirectly: Italy adapted captured Yugoslav boats derived from early Schnellboot work into a more seaworthy alternative to the MAS.

Notes

The design relationship was indirect. Italy captured Yugoslav motor boats built by the yard associated with Schnellboot development and derived from an early Schnellboot form. Italian designers adapted that rounded-hull model to their own requirements after concluding that MAS boats had sacrificed too much seaworthiness for speed. The resulting MS type could operate when winter wind, currents, and rough water removed the MAS boat's main advantage.