Italian submarine Comandante Faà di Bruno

Comandante Faà di Bruno, also referred to by its shortened name Faà di Bruno, was a Marcello-class submarine built for the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) in the 1930s. It was sunk in 1940 by British and Canadian destroyers escorting a convoy.

History
Italy
Name: Comandante Faà di Bruno
Namesake: Emilio Faà di Bruno
Launched: 18 June 1939
Fate: Sunk, 8 November 1940
General characteristics
Class and type: Marcello-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 1,043 t (1,027 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,290 t (1,270 long tons) submerged
Length: 73 m (239 ft 6 in)
Beam: 7.19 m (23 ft 7 in)
Draft: 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Installed power:
  • 3,600 bhp (2,700 kW) (diesels)
  • 1,100 hp (820 kW) (electric motors)
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 17.4 knots (32.2 km/h; 20.0 mph) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range:
  • 7,500 nmi (13,900 km; 8,600 mi) at 19.47 knots (36.06 km/h; 22.41 mph) surfaced
  • 120 nmi (220 km; 140 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged
Test depth: 100 m (328.1 ft)
Complement: 58
Armament:

Design and description

The Marcello-class submarines were designed as improved versions of the preceding Glauco class. They displaced 1,043 metric tons (1,027 long tons) surfaced and 1,290 metric tons (1,270 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 73 meters (239 ft 6 in) long, had a beam of 7.19 meters (23 ft 7 in) and a draft of 5.1 meters (16 ft 9 in).[1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 1,800-brake-horsepower (1,342 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 550-horsepower (410 kW) electric motor. They could reach 17.4 knots (32.2 km/h; 20.0 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater. On the surface, the Marcello class had a range of 7,500 nmi (13,900 km; 8,600 mi) at 9.4 knots (17.4 km/h; 10.8 mph), submerged, they had a range of 120 nmi (220 km; 140 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph).[2]

The boats were armed with eight internal 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes, four each in the bow and stern. One reload were stowed for each tube, which gave them a total of sixteen torpedoes. They were also armed with two 100 mm (4 in) guns and four 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns for combat on the surface.[1]

Construction and career

It was sunk on 8 November 1940 by a combined effort from the destroyers HMCS Ottawa of the Royal Canadian Navy, and HMS Harvester of the Royal Navy after attacking Convoy HX 84 they were defending.[3]

Notes
  1. Chesneau, p. 305
  2. Bagnasco, p. 158
  3. Rohwer, p. 48

References
  • Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.

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