"A Gentleman must always shave carefully in the morning before leaving home. If today we have to go to sink a British battleship, as it is not excluded an encounter with some British Gentlemen, we must be sure to have the beard perfectly shaved. "
Tenente di vascello Gino Birindelli, Operatore Mezzi d'assalto S.L.C., asking Junio Valerio Borghese, Commander of the Sommergibile Sciré, permission to shave before Operation "BG 2", october 1940.