Italian R-class submarine
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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.[1]
Design and description
The R-class submarines displaced Script error: No such module "convert". surfaced and Script error: No such module "convert". submerged. The submarines were Script error: No such module "convert". long, had a beam of Script error: No such module "convert". and a draft of Script error: No such module "convert".. They had a cargo capacity of Script error: No such module "convert".. [2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two Script error: No such module "convert". diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a Script error: No such module "convert". electric motor. They could reach Script error: No such module "convert". on the surface and Script error: No such module "convert". underwater. On the surface, the R class had a range of Script error: No such module "convert". at Script error: No such module "convert".; submerged, they had a range of Script error: No such module "convert". at Script error: No such module "convert"..[3]
The boats were only armed for self-defense with three Script error: No such module "convert". light anti-aircraft guns. Some boats may have been equipped with a pair of internal Script error: No such module "convert". torpedo tubes in the bow and stern.[2]
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 Taranto[4]
- 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 source[5] claims it was the Italian submarine Ambra that was attacked and the fate of the Romolo is unknown. Another source[1] 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
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Chesneau, p. 307
- ↑ Bagnasco, p. 166
- ↑ https://uboat.net/italian_submarines/boats/183
- ↑ https://uboat.net/italian_submarines/boats/182
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Bibliography
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External links
- Sommergibili Marina Militare website
See also
- Merchant submarine
- Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., an unarmed transport submarine built by Germany in World War I.
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