Italian submarine F16

	F16 undergoing maintenance on a slipway at Ancona, Italy.
History
Italy
Name	F16
Builder	Odero, Sestri Ponente, Italy
Laid down	4 October 1915
Launched	19 March 1917
Commissioned	30 April 1917
Decommissioned	1 May 1928
Stricken	1 May 1928
Identification	Pennant number F16
Motto	Honni soit qui mal y pense ("Let him who thinks badly of us be ashamed")
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class & type	F-class submarine
Displacement	262 long tons (266 t) (surfaced); 319 long tons (324 t) (submerged);
Length	45.6 m (149 ft 7 in) (overall); 45.1 m (148 ft 0 in) (between perpendiculars);
Beam	4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
Draught	3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 × 670 bhp (500 kW) Fiat diesel engines; 2 × 500 hp (373 kW) Savigliano electric motors; 2 x shafts; 15 tons diesel fuel;
Speed	12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) (surfaced); 8.2 knots (15.2 km/h; 9.4 mph) (submerged);
Range	1,600 nmi (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) (surfaced); 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) (submerged);
Test depth	45 metres (148 feet)
Complement	26 (2 officers, 24 men)
Armament	2 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 bow); 4 x torpedoes; 1 × 76 mm (3 in) deck gun;
Notes	SOURCE:

F16 was an F-class submarine in commission in the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) from 1917 to 1928. She took part in World War I, conducting antisubmarine patrols in the Mediterranean Sea during the Mediterranean U-boat campaign and seeing service in the Adriatic Campaign.

Design

Construction and commissioning

F16 was laid down by Cantieri navali Odero (Odero Shipyards) at Sestri Ponente, Italy, on 4 October 1915. She was launched on 19 March 1917 and commissioned on 30 April 1917.

Service history

On 1 May 1917, F16 was assigned to the La Spezia Maritime Command. Under its control, she conducted antisubmarine patrols in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea during the Mediterranean U-boat campaign.

In September 1917, F16 was transferred to the Ancona Submarine Squadron to take part in the Adriatic Campaign of World War I. Before the war ended in November 1918, she conducted nine war patrols in the Adriatic Sea, without significant results.

From 1919 to 1923, F16 operated under the control of the Venice Maritime Command, deploying frequently to Pola. In November 1923 she was transferred to the Taranto Submarine Flotilla Command. She participated in annual attack and torpedo-firing drills and took part in the naval maneuvers of June 1927.

F16 was decommissioned and stricken from the navy list on 1 May 1928. She subsequently was scrapped.

References

Citations

1 2 3 4 5 "Regi Sommergibili F16-F17-F18" [Royal Submarines F16-F17-F18]. Grupsom - Sommergibili Mediterranei (in Italian). Archived from the original on 13 November 2014.
1 2 3 Conway's 1906–1921 1985, p. 277.
1 2 Conway's 1922–1946 1980, p. 288.
1 2 sonar (28 February 2008). "Classe F (1915)" [F Class (1915)]. Betasom - XI Gruppo Sommergibili Atlantici (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2026.
1 2 3 4 "F 16". marina.difesa.it (in Italian). Marina Militare. Retrieved 10 September 2026.

Bibliography

Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
Favre, Franco (2008). La Marina nella Grande Guerra. Le operazioni aeree, navali, subacquee e terrestri in Adriatico [The Navy in the Great War: Aerial, Naval, Underwater, and Land Operations in the Adriatic] (in Italian). Udine: Gaspari Editore.
Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0851772455.
Giorgerini, Giorgio (2002). Uomini sul fondo. Storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi [Men at the Bottom: History of Italian Submarining from its Origins to Today] (in Italian). Milano: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. ISBN 978-8-80450-537-2.
Maffi, Mario (1919). La Vittoria in Adriatico [The Victory in the Adriatic] (in Italian). Milano: Alfieri e Lacroix.

[xmasgrupsom.com-1] 1 2 3 4 5 "Regi Sommergibili F16-F17-F18" [Royal Submarines F16-F17-F18]. Grupsom - Sommergibili Mediterranei (in Italian). Archived from the original on 13 November 2014.

[FOOTNOTE''Conway's_1906–1921''1985277-2] 1 2 3 Conway's 1906–1921 1985, p. 277.

[FOOTNOTE''Conway's_1922–1946''1980288-3] 1 2 Conway's 1922–1946 1980, p. 288.

[betasomfclass-4] 1 2 sonar (28 February 2008). "Classe F (1915)" [F Class (1915)]. Betasom - XI Gruppo Sommergibili Atlantici (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2026.

[marinadifesaf16-5] 1 2 3 4 "F 16". marina.difesa.it (in Italian). Marina Militare. Retrieved 10 September 2026.

History

F16 undergoing maintenance on a slipway at Ancona, Italy.




Italy
Name	F16
Builder	Odero, Sestri Ponente, Italy
Laid down	4 October 1915
Launched	19 March 1917
Commissioned	30 April 1917
Decommissioned	1 May 1928
Stricken	1 May 1928
Identification	Pennant number F16
Motto	Honni soit qui mal y pense ("Let him who thinks badly of us be ashamed")
Fate	Scrapped


General characteristics
Class & type	F-class submarine
Displacement	262 long tons (266 t) (surfaced) 319 long tons (324 t) (submerged)
Length	45.6 m (149 ft 7 in) (overall) 45.1 m (148 ft 0 in) (between perpendiculars)
Beam	4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
Draught	3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 × 670 bhp (500 kW) Fiat diesel engines 2 × 500 hp (373 kW) Savigliano electric motors 2 x shafts 15 tons diesel fuel
Speed	12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) (surfaced) 8.2 knots (15.2 km/h; 9.4 mph) (submerged)
Range	1,600 nmi (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) (surfaced) 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) (submerged)
Test depth	45 metres (148 feet)
Complement	26 (2 officers, 24 men)
Armament	2 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 bow) 4 x torpedoes 1 × 76 mm (3 in) deck gun
Notes	SOURCE: