Cagni class
Italian Cagni-class submarine (Ammiraglio Cagni)
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Cagni class |
| Builders: | CRDA |
| Operators: |
 Regia Marina
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| Preceded by: | Marconi class |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Lost: | 3 |
| Retired: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 87.95 m (288.5 ft) |
| Beam: | 7.76 m (25.5 ft) |
| Draught: | 5.72 m (18.8 ft) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: | 13,500 nmi (25,000 km; 15,500 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Complement: | 85 |
| Armament: |
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The Cagni or Ammiraglio Cagni class was a class of submarines built for Italy's Regia Marina during World War II.
These submarines were designed as commerce raiders for oceanic operations. They had high endurance and a large torpedo load for extended patrols. A smaller 450 mm (18 in) torpedo was chosen, rather than the standard 533 mm (21 in), as the Italians believed this was adequate to deal with merchant ships. The boats were designed to have the range to sail non-stop from Italy to Kismayu, Italian Somaliland where a new submarine base was to be built. In order to operate in the Indian Ocean Monsoon the submarines were fitted with large conning towers and armed with two 100 mm (4 in) / 47 caliber guns.
The large conning towers were rebuilt to a smaller German style as a result of war experience. Ammiraglio Cagni carried out a 4⁄1/2-month patrol in the South Atlantic during 1942–43. The other three boats were used as transport submarines to supply Italian forces in North Africa.
All four boats were built by CRDA Monfalcone, laid down in 1939 and completed in 1941
12 more boats were planned for the 1940 and 1941 ship building programmes but were cancelled as a result of the outbreak of World War II
Her first operational patrols were in the Mediterranean, doing five transport missions and 16 patrols. Her first mission in the Atlantic was of 136 days, sinking the British tanker Dagomba and the Greek sloop Argo on 29 November 1942.
Ammiraglio Cagni was used in two theatres, the Mediterranean and South-Atlantic/Indian Ocean. She made 21 sorties in the Mediterranean, and 2 sorties in the South Atlantic/Indian Ocean in 1942–43.
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