Squalo-class submarine

The Squalo class was a group of four ocean-going diesel-electric submarines built for the Italian Regia Marina and in commission from 1930 to 1943. They were built at the Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CRDA) yard at Monfalcone to a design by Curio Bernardis, and were essentially repeats of the preceding Bandiera class, sharing its stability and seakeeping problems, which had to be cured by bulging the hull. They displaced 920 tonnes on the surface and 1,125 tonnes submerged, were 69.8 metres long and carried eight 533 mm torpedo tubes, four in the bow and four in the stern, and a 102 mm deck gun. Two diesel engines gave a surface speed of about 15 knots. Three of the four boats were lost in the Second World War and Squalo herself was withdrawn from service in September 1943.