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Todaro (class)

2006 MODERN NAVY

History

The modern Italian Navy (Marina Militare) operates no less than four submarines in its fleet of Todaro-class attack submarines. These boats are based on the German Type 212 model series, described elsewhere on this site, and thus borrow many of its features and functions. The class currently consists of the main ship Salvador Todaro (S-526) and sister ships Sire (S-527), Pietro Venuti (S-528) and Romeo Romeo (S-529).

Two more ships were funded during the 2018 defense trial.

As a class, the ships were completed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) GmbH in Germany and Fincantieri SpA in Italy.

The ships were modest by US Navy standards, carrying a crew of about 27 people. Dimensions include a barrel length of 183.8 feet, a beam of 22.3 feet and a draft of 21 feet. The ships are designed with a non-nuclear "combined-cycle power plant" consisting of marine diesel and electric motors, each of which is used to sail on and underwater. This arrangement consists of 1 MTU-396 16V diesel generator set and 1 Siemens Permasyn FR6439-3900KW type electric motor driving power to a single shaft aft. The achievable surface speed is 12 knots and the underwater speed is 20 knots.

Range is up to 8,000 nautical miles, and the pressurized hull has been tested to a depth of 820 feet.

With a full crew and supplies on board, the ship can stay at the station for up to twelve weeks.

The weapon is centered on a 6 x 533 mm (21 in) standard torpedo tube to counter threats from enemy submarines and surface fighters. Up to 24 mines are an optional weapon capability that can be used to block the launch of a surface-to-air missile developed specifically for the Type 212 from enemy strategic waterways.

The lead ship Todaro was laid on July 3, 1999 and launched on November 6, 2003, and commissioned on March 29, 2006. Scire then laid the keel on May 27, 2000. Launched on December 18, 2004, the vessel was commissioned on February 19, 2007.

Pietro Venuti, the third vessel in this class, was laid on 9 December 2009, launched on 9 October 2014 and commissioned on 6 July 2016. Romeo Romeo was laid in 2012, launched on July 4, 2015, and commissioned on May 11, 2017.