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Italian R-class submarine

{{for|other ship classes of the same name|British R class submarine|United States R class submarine}}

{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image= Romolo_class_submarine.jpg

|Ship caption= Romolo-class submarine (Romolo)

}}

{{Infobox ship class overview

|Name=Romolo

|Builders= Tosi, CRDA

|Operators={{Navy|Kingdom of Italy|name=Regia Marina}}

|Class before=

|Class after=

|Subclasses=

|Cost=

|Built range=1942–1943

|In service range= 1943

|In commission range=

|Total ships planned=12

|Total ships completed=2

|Total ships cancelled=10

|Total ships lost=2

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=

|Ship type=Transport submarines

|Ship displacement=*{{cvt|2155|t|LT|0|lk=on}} (surfaced)

  • {{cvt|2560|t|LT|0}} (submerged)

|Ship length={{convert|86.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship beam={{convert|7.86|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship draft={{convert|5.34|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship power=*{{convert|2600|bhp|lk=on|abbr=on}} (diesels)

  • {{convert|900|hp|abbr=on}} (electric motors)

|Ship propulsion=*Diesel-electric

|Ship speed=*{{convert|13|kn|lk=in}} (surfaced)

  • {{convert|6|kn}} (submerged)

|Ship range=*{{convert|12000|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|9|kn}} (surfaced)

  • {{convert|100|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|3.5|kn}} (submerged)

|Ship capacity={{cvt|600|t|LT|0}} of cargo

|Ship test depth={{convert|80|m|ft|abbr=on}}

|Ship complement=63

|Ship armament=*2 × {{convert|450|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes (some boats)

|Ship notes=

}}

The R-class or Romolo-class submarine was a group of submarines built for the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina Italiana) during World War II. They were designed as blockade running transport submarines for transporting high-value cargo from Europe to Japan and vice versa. Axis-occupied Europe lacked strategic materials such as tungsten, tin and some commodities such as rubber.{{Cite web|url=https://comandosupremo.com/r-class-submarines/|title=The “R” class transport submarines|first=Giulio|last=Poggiaroni|date=October 24, 2021}}

Design and description

The R-class submarines displaced {{convert|2155|t|LT|sp=us}} surfaced and {{convert|2560|t|LT|sp=us}} submerged. The submarines were {{convert|86.5|m|ftin|sp=us}} long, had a beam of {{convert|7.86|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a draft of {{convert|5.34|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They had a cargo capacity of {{convert|600|t|LT|0}}.

Chesneau, p. 307

For surface running, the boats were powered by two {{convert|1300|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a {{convert|450|hp|0|adj=on}} electric motor. They could reach {{convert|13|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|6|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the R class had a range of {{convert|12000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|9|kn}}; submerged, they had a range of {{convert|110|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|3.5|kn}}.Bagnasco, p. 166

The boats were only armed for self-defense with three {{convert|20|mm|in|sp=us|adj=on}} light anti-aircraft guns. Some boats may have been equipped with a pair of internal {{convert|45|cm|in|1|abbr=on|sp=us}} torpedo tubes in the bow and stern.

Boats

Twelve boats were ordered, but only two were completed, by Tosi:

  • Remo, named after Remus, launched 28 March 1943 – Sunk by the British submarine HMS United 15 July 1943 in the Gulf of Tarantohttps://uboat.net/italian_submarines/boats/183
  • Romolo, named after Romulus, launched 21 March 1943 – Claimed by the British to have been sunk east of Sicily on 18 July, 1943 by a British Wellington aircraft (RAF Sq. 221/B), but sources differ regarding her fate. One sourcehttps://uboat.net/italian_submarines/boats/182 claims it was the Italian submarine Ambra that was attacked and the fate of the Romolo is unknown. Another source states that while the submarine was attacked, it continued to sail for hours, with the submarine perhaps sinking from an internal explosion.

The remaining 10 hulls were scuttled incomplete and scrapped after the war.

The sail of submarine R12 is now exhibited as a monument on the seafront of Gaeta.

==References==

{{reflist|30em}}

Bibliography

  • {{cite book|last=Bagnasco |first=Erminio |title=Submarines of World War Two |year=1977 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-962-6}}
  • {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
  • {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2|authorlink=Jürgen Rohwer}}
  • {{cite journal |last1=Frampton |first1=Viktor |title=Question 9/98: Italian North African Convoys of WW II |journal=Warship International |date=2005 |volume=XLII |issue=4 |pages=424–425 |issn=0043-0374}}

External links

  • [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/sommergibili.aspx Sommergibili] Marina Militare website

See also

  • Merchant submarine
  • {{ship|German submarine|Deutschland}}, an unarmed transport submarine built by Germany in World War I.

{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}

{{Italian R class submarines}}

{{WWII Italian ships}}

R class submarines, Italian

R class

Category:Ships built by Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto

Category:Merchant submarines