Italian submarine Ametista

Ametista was the lead ship of her class of a dozen submarines, the second sub-class of the 600 Series of coastal submarines built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) during the early 1930s.

History
Kingdom of Italy
Name	Ametista
Namesake	Amethyst
Builder	Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano
Laid down	16 September 1931
Launched	24 April 1933
Completed	1 April 1934
Fate	Scuttled 12 September 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	Sirena-class submarine
Displacement	691 t (680 long tons) (surfaced) 850 t (837 long tons) (submerged)
Length	60.18 m (197 ft 5 in)
Beam	6.45 m (21 ft 2 in)
Draft	4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power	1,350 bhp (1,010 kW) (diesels) 800 hp (600 kW) (electric motors)
Propulsion	2 shafts; diesel-electric 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) (surfaced) 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) (submerged)
Range	5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (surfaced) 72 nmi (133 km; 83 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) (submerged)
Crew	45
Armament	1 × single 100 mm (3.9 in) deck gun 2–4 × single 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns 6 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern)

Design and description

The Sirena class was an improved and enlarged version of the preceding Argonauta-class submarines. They displaced 691 metric tons (680 long tons) surfaced and 850 metric tons (837 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 61.5 meters (201 ft 9 in) long, had a beam of 5.7 meters (18 ft 8 in) and a draft of 4.7 meters (15 ft 5 in). Their crew numbered 45 officers and enlisted men.

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 675-brake-horsepower (503 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 400-horsepower (298 kW) electric motor. They could reach 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface and 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) underwater. On the surface, the Sirena class had a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph); submerged, they had a range of 72 nmi (133 km; 83 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).

The boats were armed with six 53.3-centimeter (21 in) 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 100 mm (3.9 in) deck gun forward of the conning tower for combat on the surface. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two or four 13.2-millimeter (0.52 in) machine guns.

Construction and career

Ametista was laid down by Odero-Terni-Orlando (OTO) at their Muggiano, La Spezia shipyard in 1931, launched on 24 April 1933 and completed the following year.

References

• Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
• Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8.
• 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.
• uboat.net Ametista (AA) Ametista Accessed 1 May 2022

External links

• Sommergibili Marina Militare website