The Italian 600 Series submarines were a series of

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 ...

classes built for the Italian Royal Navy (''

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 ...

'') during the Inter war years.

Development

The 600 Series were sea-going submarines, though designated as coastal-type submarines, built for service in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. They were built to conform to the interwar naval treaties arising from the 1922

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and 1930 London conferences, which placed restrictions on the number and size of warships of various types that nations could build.Bagnasco p134 The coastal submarine was limited to a 600-ton surface displacement, though there was no limit placed on the numbers of these vessels that could be built. During this period Italy was involved in a rivalry with France in the Mediterranean, leading to a naval arms race. This provided the impetus for a sustained building programme, and led to Italy having the second largest submarine fleet in the world by outbreak of

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 opposin ...

. The Italian 600 series was equivalent to the French 600 Series, the British S class, and the German Type VII

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

. The first submarines of the Argentine Navy, the ''Santa Fe'' class, derived from these Italian ships.

General characteristics

The 600s had a surface

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

just above 600 tons; the earliest vessels displaced 650 tons while the last built were 715 tons. They had an endurance of 2,300 miles at 14

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

, with a submerged speed of 7-8 knots. Their armament was six

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 (4 forward, 2 aft) with an outfit of 10-12 torpedoes and a single 3.9 inch/ gun, and four machine guns. They were manned by crews of 44 –48 men.

Construction history

The prototype for the 600s was the ''Argonauta'' class, a class of seven single –hulled submarines of a Bernardis design, built in 1929. A further four classes were orders over the next 13 years, eventually totalling 49 submarines completed. * ''Argonauta'' class: a class of seven submarines, ordered in 1929 and completed in 1932–33. These all saw service in the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

, and six were lost. * ''Sirena'' class: a class of 12 submarines, ordered in 1931 and completed in 1933–34. These all saw service in the Second World War, and 11 were lost. * ''Perla'' class: a class of 10 submarines ordered in 1935 and completed in 1936. These all saw service in the Second World War, and seven were lost. * ''Adua'' class: a class of 17 submarines ordered in 1936 and completed in 1937–38. These all saw service in the Second World War, and 13 were lost. * ''Acciaio'' class: a class of 13 submarines ordered in 1940 and completed in 1942. These all saw service in the Second World War, and 11 were lost. Overall, despite their heavy losses, the 600's proved to be successful boats. They showed good manoeuvrability, their hull was well designed and strongly built to withstand depth pressure and explosions that exceeded their test values. While smaller than contemporary ocean-going submarines, such as the ''

Settembrini Settembrini is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andrea Settembrini (born 1991), Italian footballer *Luigi Settembrini (1813–1877), Italian man of letters and politician *Lodovico Settembrini, a fictional character in Thomas M ...

'' class, the 600's were cheaper to build, so that more could be built for the same expenditure. The 600's were not markedly inferior in striking power; six torpedo tubes compared to the ''Settembrini's'' eight, though they carried the same number of torpedoes (twelve): Nor in speed; 14 knots on the surface, and 7.7 submerged, compare to the ''Settembrini's'' 17 and 8 knots respectively. The 600's range was less (5000 nautical miles, compared to the ''Settembrini's'' 9000), but adequate for operations in the closer waters of the Mediterranean. The success of the 600 Series led to the development of the ''Flutto'' class, a wartime design suited for fast production.

War service

The 600 Series submarines served with the

during World War II in a full range of front-line duties and missions. During the conflict between 1940 and 1943, 48 of the 59 built (80%) were lost.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bagnasco, E :''Submarines of World War Two'' (1977) * Conway : ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946'' (1980)

External links

Italian 600 series at regiamarina.net

Sommergibili
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Italian 600 Series Submarines World War II submarines of Italy