The ''Archimede'' class were a group of four submarines built for the (Royal Italian Navy) in the early 1930s. The boats fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

(under the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

flag) and in World War II. In Spanish service, two boats were known as the ''General Mola'' class; these were taken out of service in 1959.

Design

The ships were designed by the firm Cavallini and were a partially double hulled design. They were an enlarged version of the with

ballast tank A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water, which is used as ballast to provide hydrostatic stability for a vessel, to reduce or control buoyancy, as in a submarine, to correct trim or li ...

s rearranged, greater range, fuel and torpedo capacity for ocean service. Like most of the later ocean-going submarines of the Italian navy, their deck armament consisting of two guns was conceived to deal with

armed merchantmen An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

in surface combat. They also mounted two anti-aircraft machine guns. The number of torpedoes was increased from 12 on the ''Settembrini'' class to 16.

Boats

All boats were built by the

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

of Franco Tosi at Taranto, between 1930 and 1934. ''Torricelli'' and ''Archimede'' took part in the Spanish Civil war under the Italian flag since 1936, carrying out undercover operations. Eventually both submarines were secretly delivered to the Spanish nationalists in April 1937.

Notes

References

External links

Archimede
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Archimede class submarine Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War Ships built in Italy Ships built by Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto Submarine classes Archimede Submarines of the Spanish Navy

Design

Boats

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links