''Archimede'' was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of four submarines built for the (Royal Italian Navy) during the early 1930s. She was transferred to the (Spanish Navy) of

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

in 1937, renamed ''General Sanjurjo'', and served 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 ...

of 1936–1939.

Design and description

The ''Archimede'' class was an improved and enlarged version of the earlier . They displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long, had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

of . They had an operational diving depth of Their crew numbered 55 officers and enlisted men.Chesneau, p. 304 For surface running, the boats were powered by two

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

. When submerged each propeller was driven by a

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate for ...

. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the ''Archimede'' class had a range of at ; submerged, they had a range of at .Bagnasco, p. 149 The boats were armed with eight

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, four each in the bow and in the stern for which they carried a total of 16

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es. They were also armed with a pair of

deck guns A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose w ...

, one each fore and aft of the conning tower, for combat on the surface. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two single

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

Construction and career

''Archimede'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto The Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto (Tosi Shipyard at Taranto) is a defunct Italian shipyard founded in 1914 by engineering company Franco Tosi & C. Between World War I and World War II it specialized in building submarines. The company never re ...

at their

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

shipyard in 1931, launched on 10 December 1933 and completed the following year. She was transferred to the Spanish Nationalist Navy in April 1937 and renamed ''General Sanjurjo''.Frank, p. 95

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Archimede
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Archimede Archimede-class submarines World War II submarines of Italy 1933 ships Ships built by Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto Ships built in Taranto Italy–Spain military relations Submarines of the Spanish Navy