Italian R-class submarine
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Romolo |
| Builders: | Tosi, CRDA |
| Operators: |
_crowned.svg.png){kind=small} Regia Marina |
| Built: | 1942-1943 |
| In service: | 1943 |
| Planned: | 12 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Cancelled: | 10 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Submarine |
| Displacement: | 2,155 tons (surface) 2,560 tons (submerged) |
| Tons burthen: | 600 tons cargo |
| Length: | 86.5 m |
| Beam: | 7.86 m |
| Draught: | 5.34 m |
| Propulsion: | (surfaced/submerged) diesel / electric , 2 shafts 2,600 hp / 900 hp |
| Speed: | 14 / 6.5 knots (surfaced/submerged) |
| Range: | 12,000 nm at 9 knots |
| Complement: | 63 |
| Armament: | 2 x 450mm torpedo tubes bow, 3 - 20mm AA guns |
The R-class or Romolo-class were a group of submarines built for the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina Italiana) during World War II. These submarines were designed as blockade running transport submarines for transporting high-value cargo from Europe to Japan and from Japan to Europe. Axis-occupied Europe lacked strategic materials such as tungsten, tin and some commodities such as rubber. The cargo capacity was 600 tons. A limited armament was fitted for self-defense.
Boats
Twelve boats were ordered, but only two were completed, by Tosi:
- Remo, named after Remus, launched 28 March 1943 — Sunk by British Submarine HMS United 15 July 1943 in the Gulf of Taranto
- Romolo, named after Romulus, launched 21 March 1943 — Sunk by Allied aircraft near Augusta 18 July 1943.
The remaining 10 hulls were scuttled incomplete and scrapped after the war.
See also
- Italian submarines of World War II
- Merchant submarine
- German submarine Deutschland, an unarmed transport submarine built by Germany in World War I.
References
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946
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