Argonauta-class submarine

The Argonauta-class submarine was the first sub-class of the 600 Series of coastal submarines built for the Regia Marina during the 1930s. Some of these boats played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 supporting the Spanish Nationalists. Of the seven boats built in this class, only a single one survived the Second World War.

Design and description

The Argonauta class was derived from the earlier s. They displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long, had a beam of and a draft of. They had an operational diving depth of. Their crew numbered 44 officers and enlisted men.
For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the Settembrini class had a range of at ; submerged, they had a range of at.
The boats were armed with six torpedo tubes, four in the bow and two in the stern for which they carried a total of 12 torpedoes. They were also armed with a single [Cannon 102/35 Model 1914|] deck gun forward of the conning tower for combat on the surface. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two single [Breda Model 1931 Machine Gun|] machine guns.

Ships

Ship	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
	Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone	9 November 1929	19 January 1931	1 January 1932	Sunk by British aircraft 28 June 1940
	Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone	20 November 1929	2 May 1931	5 June 1932	Sunk by 28 September 1941
	Odero Terni Orlando, Muggiano	20 January 1930	15 June 1932	16 March 1933	Discarded 1 February 1948
	Odero Terni Orlando, Muggiano	20 January 1930	16 May 1932	1 March 1933	Sunk by 5 July 1941
	Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone	30 November 1929	10 December 1931	25 September 1932	Sunk by 30 January 1942
	Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto, Taranto	23 April 1930	8 May 1932	12 December 1932	Sunk by 27 June 1941
	Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto, Taranto	23 April 1930	28 February 1932	12 November 1932	Scuttled at Ancona 12 September 1943

Service

The seven Argonauta-class submarines saw action during the Second World War. Five were sunk in action during the conflict and a sixth was scuttled at the Italian armistice in 1943. The last surviving boat of the class was stricken in 1948.