Italian submarine Galileo Galilei
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 Caption |
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| Career (Italy) |  |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | na |
| Launched: | 19th March 1934 |
| Commissioned: | |
| Decommissioned: | na |
| Fate: | Commissioned into Royal Navy, June 1942 as HMS X2 |
| Stricken: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 880 tons surfaced 1230 tons submerged |
| Length: | 70.5 metres |
| Beam: | 6.87 metres |
| Draft: | 4.12 metres |
| Speed: | 17 knots surfaced 7.7 knots submerged |
| Complement: | 55 |
| Armament: | 8 torpedo tubes two 3.9 inch deck guns two light AA guns |
Italian submarine Galileo Galilei was an Italian Archimede class submarine, serving the Regia Marina during World War II before its capture by the Royal Navy in 1942.
Galileo Galilei was stationed in the Red Sea in June 1940 as a unit of the Italian Red Sea Fleet.
[edit] Major events
On 16th June 1940 she sank the Norwegian tanker James Stove approximately 12 miles south of Aden , following which aircraft from HMS Leander carried out a search for her without success.
On 18th June, the ASW Trawler HMS Moonstone sighted the periscope of the Galileo Galilei and carried out an attack with two depth charges, forcing the submarine to surface at the position 12.48N, 45.12E. The submarine surrendered after a brief engagement and was towed into Aden. Twelve members of the submarine's crew were killed during the action including the commanding officer, and four wounded. The submarine's codebooks and operational documents were captured intact by the Royal Navy, and revealed the exact position of other Italian naval units.
Galileo Galilei was commissioned into the Royal Navy in June 1942 as HMS X2 (later changed to P711), and was operated as a training boat in the East.
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