Italian submarine F19

History
Italy
NameF19
BuilderFIAT-San Giorgio, La Spezia, Italy
Laid down23 September 1915
Launched10 March 1918
Commissioned24 April 1918
Decommissioned2 June 1930
Stricken2 June 1930
IdentificationPennant number F19
MottoCor patriae sub undis ("The heart of the fatherland beneath the waves")
FateScrapped
General characteristics
Class & typeF-class submarine
Displacement
  • 262 long tons (266 t) (surfaced)
  • 319 long tons (324 t) (submerged)
Length
Beam4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
Draught3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
Propulsion
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 depth45 metres (148 feet)
Complement26 (2 officers, 24 men)
Armament
NotesSOURCE:

F19 was an F-class submarine in commission in the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) from 1918 to 1930. She took part in the Adriatic Campaign of World War I.

Design

Construction and commissioning

In June 1915, FIAT-San Giorgio laid down an F-class submarine for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) at La Spezia, Italy. Originally designated F19, that submarine was sold to Portugal and entered service in the Portuguese Navy as NRP Foca.

To replace the first F19, the Regia Marina ordered a second submarine also designated F19. FIAT-San Giorgio laid down the second F19 at La Spezia on 23 September 1915. She was launched on 10 March 1918 and commissioned into service in the Regia Marina as F19 on 24 April 1918.

Service history

In August 1918, the Regia Marina assigned F19 to the Ancona Submarine Flotilla for operations in the Adriatic Sea during the Adriatic Campaign of World War I. Before the war ended in November 1918, she had carried out nine war patrols along the coast of Austria-Hungary, but without significant results. In the war's immediate aftermath she operated for some time in active sectors which had not yet undergone postwar military demobilization and on 15 November 1919 participated in the occupation of Umag on the coast of Istria. Her crew was the first Italian military force to raise the Italian flag in Umag.

F19 subsequently was transferred to the Naples Maritime Command, where she conducted training activities. She participated in the naval manuevers of 1924 and 1925, and in December 1925 became the flagship of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. She also took part in the naval maneuvers of 1926 and 1927.

F19 was placed in reserve in 1928. She was decommissioned and stricken from the navy list on 2 June 1930. She subsequently was scrapped.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Regi Sommergibili F19-F20-F21" [Royal Submarines F19-F20-F21]. Grupsom (in Italian). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Conway's 1906–1921 1985, p. 277.
  3. 1 2 Conway's 1922–1946 1980, p. 288.
  4. 1 2 sonar (28 February 2008). "Classe F (1915)" [F Class (1915)]. Betasom - XI Gruppo Sommergibili Atlantici (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 "F 19". marina.difesa.it (in Italian). Marina Militare. Retrieved 11 September 2026.

Bibliography