The ''Archimede'' class were a group of four submarines built for the (Royal Italian Navy) in the early 1930s. The boats fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

(under the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

flag) and in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In Spanish service, two boats were known as the ''General Mola'' class; these were taken out of service in 1959.

Design

The ships were designed by the firm Cavallini and were a partially double hulled design. They were an enlarged version of the with

ballast tank A ballast tank is a Compartment (ship), compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water, which is used as ballast to provide hydrostatic stability for a vessel, to reduce or control buoyancy, as in a submarine, to co ...

s rearranged, greater range, fuel and torpedo capacity for ocean service. Like most of the later ocean-going submarines of the Italian navy, their deck armament consisting of two guns was conceived to deal with

armed merchantmen An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

in surface combat. They also mounted two anti-aircraft machine guns. The number of torpedoes was increased from 12 on the ''Settembrini'' class to 16.

Boats

All boats were built by the

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

of Franco Tosi at

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

, between 1930 and 1934. ''Torricelli'' and ''Archimede'' took part in the Spanish Civil war under the Italian flag since 1936, carrying out undercover operations. Eventually both submarines were secretly delivered to the Spanish nationalists in April 1937.

Notes

References

External links

Archimede
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Archimede class submarine Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Ships built in Italy Ships built by Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto Submarine classes Archimede Submarines of the Spanish Navy

Design

Boats

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links