Italian R-class submarine

The R-class or Romolo-class submarine was a group of submarines built for the Royal Italian Navy during World War II. They were designed as blockade running transport submarines for transporting high-value cargo from Europe to Japan and vice versa. Axis-occupied Europe lacked strategic materials such as tungsten, tin and some commodities such as rubber.

Design and description

The R-class submarines displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long, had a beam of and a draft of. They had a cargo capacity of.
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 R class had a range of at ; submerged, they had a range of at.
The boats were only armed for self-defense with three light anti-aircraft guns. Some boats may have been equipped with a pair of internal torpedo tubes in the bow and stern.

Boats

Twelve boats were ordered, but only two were completed, by Tosi:Remo, named after Remus, launched 28 March 1943 – Sunk by the British submarine HMS United 15 July 1943 in the Gulf of TarantoRomolo, named after Romulus, launched 21 March 1943 – Claimed by the British to have been sunk east of Sicily on 18 July, 1943 by a British Wellington aircraft, but sources differ regarding her fate. One source claims it was the Italian submarine Ambra that was attacked and the fate of the Romolo is unknown. Another source states that while the submarine was attacked, it continued to sail for hours, with the submarine perhaps sinking from an internal explosion.
The remaining 10 hulls were scuttled incomplete and scrapped after the war.
The sail of submarine R12 is now exhibited as a monument on the seafront of Gaeta.