Gibraltar was a very tempting target for the Italians , who saw it as a refuge for British warships and allied merchant shipping . The Italian frogmen originally used a Spanish villa ( Villa Carmela ) located two miles ( 3 km ) from Gibraltar owned by an Italian officer who had married a Spanish woman named Conchita Ramognino . Their base was shifted later to the Italian tanker SS Olterra , interned in Algeciras .