''Ettore Fieramosca'' was an Italian submarine which served with the

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was named after Ettore Fieramosca, an Italian '' condottiero'' of the 16th century.

Design

''Ettore Fieramosca'' was designed by the firm Bernardis and was intended to be a

cruiser submarine A cruiser submarine was a very large submarine designed to remain at sea for extended periods in areas distant from base facilities. Their role was analogous to surface cruisers, cruising distant waters, commerce raiding, and scouting for the bat ...

which carried a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

in a waterproof hangar and a gun; such a design was inspired by the similar (although bigger) , then under construction in France. Several prototype seaplanes were designed but not deployed and the hangar was removed in 1931. The

deck gun 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 ...

was initially a 27-

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...

OTO Oto, Ōtō, or OTO may refer to: People * Oto (name), including a list of people with the name *The Otoe tribe (also spelled Oto), a Native American people Places *Oto, Spain, a village in the Valle de Broto, in Huesca, Aragon * Otorohanga, a to ...

model of 1924, but this was later replaced by a 120 mm 45-calibre OTO model of 1931. However ''Ettore Fieramosca'' proved to be rather over-dimensioned for her armament, slower than intended—the intended speed of while surfaced was never achieved—with poor maneuverability, both surfaced and underwater, and rather poor endurance. Due to her huge cost and these shortcomings, plans to build more boats to the same designs were shelved.Bagnasco, Brescia, p. 133

Career

''Ettore Fieramosca'' was built by

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 ...

. She was laid down in 1926, launched on 15 April 1929 and completed in 1930. During 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 ...

, she unsuccessfully attacked the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

and the destroyers and with three torpedoes on a patrol from 21 December 1936 to 5 January 1937. During a second patrol in February, the boat bombarded

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

with a total of 45 shells on the nights of 8/9 and 9/10 February, slightly damaging the tanker on the second night.Frank, pp. 95–96 Plagued with incidents and mechanical trouble for her entire career, she was deployed on only a few operational patrols in 1940, but did not achieve any successes against enemy targets. She suffered a battery explosion late in 1940 and was decommissioned in April 1941; eventually she was stricken and scrapped.

Notes

References

*Bagnasco, Erminio. Brescia, Maurizio (January 2014). ''I sommergibili italiani 1940-1943. Parte 2a - Oceani''. Parma, Storia Militare Dossier n. 12. * *Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946.'' Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. . * * *

External links

Sommergibili
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ettore Fieramosca Submarines of the Regia Marina Ships built by Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto Ships built in Taranto 1929 ships World War II submarines of Italy Non-combat internal explosions on warships

Design

Career

See also

Notes

References

External links