Italian submarine F3

	F3 under tow during her acceptance trials in 1916.
History
Italy
Name	F3
Builder	FIAT-San Giorgio, La Spezia, Italy
Laid down	27 May 1915
Launched	6 July 1916
Commissioned	19 October 1916
Decommissioned	1 September 1919
Identification	Pennant number F3
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:

F3 was an F-class submarine in commission in the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) from 1916 to 1919. She took part in World War I, seeing service in the Adriatic Campaign.

Design

Construction and commissioning

F3 was laid down by FIAT-San Giorgio at La Spezia, Italy, on 27 May 1915. She was launched on 6 July 1916 and was ready for sea trials in September 1916. She was commissioned on 19 October 1916.

Service history

F3 was assigned to bases at Venice and Porto Corsini for operations in the Adriatic Campaign of World War I. Most of her activities involved offensive operations along the coast of Austria-Hungary in the central and northern Adriatic Sea. She conducted 15 war patrols in 1917 and another 15 in 1918, but with no significant results.

World War I ended in November 1918, and F3 was placed in reserve. She was decommissioned on 1 September 1919 and subsequently was scrapped.

References

Citations

1 2 3 Conway's 1906–1921 1985, p. 277.
1 2 3 "Regi Sommergibili F11-F12-F13-F14-F15" [Royal Submarines F11-F12-F13-F14-F15]. Grupsom (in Italian). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
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 "F 3". marina.difesa.it (in Italian). Marina Militare. Retrieved 6 September 2026.

Bibliography

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.

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

[xmasgrupsom.com-2] 1 2 3 "Regi Sommergibili F11-F12-F13-F14-F15" [Royal Submarines F11-F12-F13-F14-F15]. Grupsom (in Italian). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.

[betasomfclass-3] 1 2 sonar (28 February 2008). "Classe F (1915)" [F Class (1915)]. Betasom - XI Gruppo Sommergibili Atlantici (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2026.

[marinadifesaf3-4] 1 2 "F 3". marina.difesa.it (in Italian). Marina Militare. Retrieved 6 September 2026.