Sauro (class)

History

The modern Italian Navy still uses Cold War-era Sauro-class diesel-electric attack submarines as part of its underwater fleet. The group had a total of eight ships at its peak, with the last four still in service (as of November 2017) and the first four decommissioned.

The class entered service in 1980, succeeding the mixed collection of Toti, Tang and Tench class ships. They themselves were eventually replaced by the Todaro-class (German-Italian Type 212 team).

Vessels of the Sauro class include the pilot vessels Nazario Sauro (S-518), Carlo Feccia di Cossato (S-519), Leonardo da Vinci (S-520), Guglielmo Marconi (S-521), Salvatore Pelosi (S- 522), Giuliano Prini (S-523), Primo Longobardo (S-524) and Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia (S-525). Sauro and Cossato are Batch I ships, while da Vinci and Marconi are Batch II ships.

Pelosi and Prini formed Batch III, and Longobardo and Priaroggia were two Batch IV ships.

The course was commissioned from 1979 (Cossato) to 1993 (Priaroggia). The Nazario Sauro was launched on June 26, 1974, and launched on October 9, 1976. She was not commissioned until March 1, 1980, so the Corsato could be commissioned for the first time on November 5, 1979.

The Sauro fraction is produced in four batches (I, II, III and IV), three of which are more clearly differentiated (I, III and IV). Lot I and II had a surface displacement of 1,456 tons and a submerged displacement of 1,641 tons. The Charge III followed with 1,476 tons on the surface and 1,662 tons underwater.

The Charge IV has a surface weight of 1,653 tons and a submerged weight of 1,862 tons. The lengths also vary among the three, with the first and second batches being 63.85 meters long, the third batch being 64.3 meters long, and the fourth batch being 66 meters long.

The beam for the entire class measures 6.8 meters. The draft between the three gradually increased from 5.3 meters to 5.6 meters and finally to 6.3 meters.

Its design includes a rounded but blunt arc. The sails are located near the midship. The sides of the fuselage are arched and the fuselage usually tapers towards the rear where the tail and propellers are attached. One of the ship's more interesting physical assets is the use of three dive planes - one at the bow, another on either side of the sail, and another at the stern. There were seven officers and forty-four soldiers on board, arranged in shifts.

The first and second ships were equipped with SMA SPS-704 series radars and Elsag-USEA IPD70/S sonar systems. Batch III and IV introduced SMA MM/BPS 704-V2 radar adaptation and STN Atlas Elektronik-ISUS 90-20 sonar adaptation.

All series are equipped with electronic warfare and decoy equipment commonly used in attack submarines.

All vessels are powered by a diesel-electric propulsion system spearheaded by a Grandi Motori Trieste (GMT) diesel unit. Lot I, II and III were all equipped with 2,686 kW Magneti Marelli motors, while Lot IV was equipped with ABB motors. In either case, if the boats surfaced, they could go up to 12 knots, and if they were submerged, they could go up to 19 knots (not particularly fast by modern standards).

With a range of 2,500 nautical miles (2,900 miles), the hull was tested at a depth of 300 meters.

The armament of all batches includes 6 x 533mm torpedo tubes with 12 reloads and up to 24 mines (the latter in place of torpedoes). The first and second batches were based on Whitehead A-184 series torpedoes, while the third and fourth batches used modified Whitehead A-184 Mod 3 series torpedoes.

As of November 2017, the four ships still in service are Pelosi, Prini, Longobardo and Priaroggia.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing