The Italian submarine ''Delfino'' (“Dolphin”) was built at the end of the 19th century and was the first submarine of 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 Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

''. She remained in service until the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Design and construction

''Delfino'' was designed by marine engineer

Giacinto Pullino Giacinto is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Giacinto Achilli (1803–1860), Italian Roman Catholic discharged from the priesthood for sexual misconduct * Giacinto Allegrini (born 1989), Italian professional fo ...

at the

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

Navy Yard. Accounts vary as to the date of her construction; it seems that she was built as an experimental craft and was under trials for several years before being accepted by the Italian Navy. ''Delfino'' was laid down in 1889, launched in 1890 and completed in 1892. She commenced trials on April 1892 which continued until April 1895, when she was commissioned into the ''Regia Marina''. (Her official records say she was built between 1892 and 1895, and was commissioned in 1896) ''Delfino'' was a single hull design, powered by a 65 hp Savigliano electric motor driving a single screw, giving a surface speed of and a submerged speed of , with a range of cruising at . She was controlled by vertical rudders two aft and unusually one forward) and horizontal planes fore and aft. She also had two vertical axis propellers to power vertical movement underwater, but these proved to give little advantage. She was armed with one

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 ...

and had a complement of 8 crewmen. ''Delfino'' was modernized between 1902 and 1904; she was equipped with a 130 hp

FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

petrol engine which increased her surface speed to , and her surface range to cruising at . The torpedo tube was changed to and her conning tower was enlarged for surface navigation.''Delfino''
at sommergibili.com

Service career

''Delfino'' was commissioned on 1 April 1895 (official records say 1896) and she served with the ''Regia Marina'' into the 20th century. She was still in service at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and saw action in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

, carrying out some 44 war patrols, though she also served as a training vessel. At the end of hostilities ''Delfino'' was moved into reserve, and was stricken in January 1919.

References

External links

Delfino (1890)
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Delfino 1890 ships 19th-century submarines Ships built in La Spezia World War I submarines of Italy