They were never completed and destroyed by Allied raids.These units, designs proposed in 1937 by Caproni to the Admiralty, were built as submersibles of local defense, then aroused then its interest at the beginning of the conflict for a project which was important to the comando supremo: they were modified in secret in 1941- 42 to attack the east coast of the United States, entering the harbor of New York or Baltimore.They had to be transported on the Leonardo da Vinci and use TNT charges. And the Regia Marina staff gave strict patrol orders, on planned routes not leaving much initiative to the captains.Arguably Italian coastal submarines proved better adapted here. But this proved a grinding match. She followed the previous class Argonauta (1931), but was slightly wider.
The Cappellini was transferred to the Kriegsmarine, becoming IUT-24, then taken over by the Japanese in March 1945 and renamed I-503. The “A” class were first the proper midget boats, 36 tonnes boats, six designed by Edgardo Ferrati and built in La Spezia for harbour defence. She survived the war.These are modernized versions of Balilla. Endurance was 4750 nautical miles at 8.5 knots. Bausan became a floating oil tank, and Des Geneys a battery charger. They were Bernardis improved Pisani with higher submerged speed, more TTs and a better endurance. The “A” class were first the proper midget boats, 36 tonnes boats, six designed by Edgardo Ferrati and built in La Spezia for harbour defence. The CC series was significantly heavier, but overall unchanged, except for the addition of a DCA composed of two 13.2 mm machine guns.
They surrendered to the allies in 1943 and were stricken in 1948 after seeing little service postwar.A pair of coastal submersible based on the Mameli design, but with stability bulges and other improvements added in the design. Designed by Bernardis on a modified Cavallini design, they were much smaller, and initially ordered in 1931 by Portugal on a tailored design. Basically this was the work of frogmen, but they had to crosse large distances to get to the point of action, and therefore special crafts had to be designed.In the late 1930s, these were modified torpedoes, with electric motors.
They did not have tubes at the stern, and their stern was arranged so as to be able to wet the mines contained in long longitudinal silos.
Pisani survived the war and was discarded in 1947.The class comprised Fratelli Bandiera, Luciano Manara, Ciro Menotti and Santorre Santarosa, built at CNT and OTO Muggiano and launched from august to december 1929. This class had a slightly lower speed but a better radius of action, 13,400 nautical miles.
The Suez canal was mostly threatened at one point by the Afrika Korps (and the harbor was subjected to Italian commando assaults), Sicily was mostly dominated by the Luftwaffe and Gibraltar was left in the reluctant hands of Franco. They were a little heavier and their only gun was placed in the back of the Kiosque, configuration proper to the Italians.These four units built at Tosi were virtually enlarged Brin. 21" (53.3 cm) A-184 ... "Italian Warships of World War II" by Aldo Fraccarolli "The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems 1991/92" by Norman Friedman Page History. Almost all were sunk in action, and a number of them distinguished themselves in combat, including the Neghelli, the Axum or the Alagi.These ten boats named after gems (Ambra, Berillo, Corallo, Diaspro, Gemma, Iride, Malachite, Onice, Perla, Turchese) were built at OTO Muggiano, and CRDA Montfalcone, launched in 1936. Italian Submarines in WWII The importance of submarines was always known to the Regia …
The Capponi was sunk in 1941 by the submersible HMS Rorqual.The clas comprised the Giovanni Bausan, Marcantonio Colonna, Des geneys, and Vettor Pisani, launched 1927-28 and completed in 1929. This fact must be recalled before going further. Hope we will resume this discussion there. There were 12 constructions but only 7 commissioned. He led the famous attack that saw these “Maiales” or “pigs”, human torpedoes, leading a successful raid in December of 1941 at Alexandria, disabling for month the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant. The local command was named BETASOM (“Beta” for Bordeaux and “Som” for Sommergibili), operating 27 oceanic submarines in early 1941. After some duty in the Staff in the Ministry of the Navy, he became rear admiral and became commander in chief of the Regia Marina’s submarine fleet. She was later dynamited and dismantled on situ by the Americans in 1946.
These boats were 780 tonnes, 63 m long with 6 TTS, moderately fast at 14 knots. They were basically slow minelayer type completed in 1931 after many changes (they were laid down in 1927, so contruction spanned five long years). They operated under the flag of Kriegsmarine (UIT-22 and 23), and sunk in 1944, UIT-23 by HMS Tally Ho in the Straits of Malacca and IUT-22 by an Australian Catalina off the Cape of Good Hope.These are six units designed by Bernardis in line with Marcello, but with more length and less width, and a more powerful engine to reach better surface speed. Three were captured at the armistice and a fourth sabotaged. Check FB updates for when it will posted ! By 1920 they all had been scrapped, since their intended role was the defence of eastern adriatic ports.Perhaps the most famous single naval Italian unit of the war, the 10th assault vehicle flottilla also known as Decima Flottiglia MAS (for “Mezzi d’Assalto”), developed a kind of weapon aimed at ports.