NRP ''Espadarte'' was the first modern

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

of the Portuguese Navy. Preceded by which was discarded in 1910, ''Espadarte'' was constructed at

La Spezia Naval Base La Spezia Naval Base is one of the Italian Navy's most important and historic bases. The base lies in the central-western zone of the Gulf of Spezia, close to the historic centre of La Spezia. History Construction It was Napoleon Bonaparte who f ...

, Italy beginning in 1910 and was launched in 1912. The submarine was the basis for the establishment of the 1st Submarine Squadron of the Portuguese Navy. ''Espadarte'' was discarded in 1931.

Design and description

''Espadarte'' was long with 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 mean draught of and a maximum of draught of . The boat had a standard displacement of and submerged. The submarine was powered by two

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 ...

-Diesel 6-cylinder motors driving two shafts, rated at for travel on the surface and two electric motors rated at when submerged. The submarine had a maximum speed of and a maximum range of . The submarine was armed with two

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 located in the bow for

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, su ...

es. Four torpedoes were carried. ''Espadarte'' had a ship's company of 21 officers and ratings.

Construction and career

The submarine was built at

, Italy from 1910 to 1913. ''Espadarte'' was launched on 5 October 1912 and commissioned during the reign of Manuel II. The submersible first entered

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

on 5 August 1913. NRP ''Espadarte'' gave rise to the 1st squadron of submarines of the Portuguese Navy, which served during

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 ...

. ''Espadarte'' was discarded in 1931.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Espadarte, NRP Naval ships of Portugal Submarines of Portugal 1912 ships