Bandiera-class submarine


The Bandiera-class submarines were built for the Regia Marina during the late 1920s. They played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 supporting the Spanish Nationalists.

Design and description

The Bandiera class was an improved and enlarged version of the preceding 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 53 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 Bandiera class had a range of at ; submerged, they had a range of at.
The boats were armed with eight torpedo tubes, four each in the bow and 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 [Breda Model 1931 Machine Gun|] machine guns.

Submarines

ShipBuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissionedFate
Cantiere Navale Triestino, Trieste11 February 19287 August 19292 June 1930Discarded 1 February 1948
Cantiere Navale Triestino, Trieste1 May 19285 October 192929 July 1930Discarded 1 February 1948
Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano12 May 192829 December 192929 July 1930Discarded 1 February 1948
Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano1 May 192822 October 192929 July 1930Scuttled 20 January 1943

Service history

During the Spanish Civil War, Luigi Settembrini made one patrol in the Eastern Mediterranean in September 1937 during which she sank a Soviet cargo ship.