(Italy)

Notes: This submarine had a fascinating history. She was laid down in WWII as a unit of the Tritone / Flutto family of classes. Italy signed an armistice with the Allies during her first war patrol in 1944, and Vortice proceeded to Valetta, Malta where she presented herself to the Royal Navy. Because some of her sister-ships were still loyal to the Fascist cause, the Allies feared a friendly-fire accident and transferred her to the Caribbean where she served as an OPFOR training sub for RN and USN surface ships.

After WWII she was allocated to France as reparations however the French navy was uninterested in another one-off foreign submarine type and declined to take delivery. The Italian navy quietly reassumed custody of the sub. Because the Treaty Of Paris (which ended WWII between Italy and the Allies) banned Italy from having submarines, Vortice was redesignated a “mobile diesel-electric generating barge” and assigned the hull number PV-2. In reality she was fully manned pierside and received a slight upgrade including a snorkel and radar, deletion of all guns, and hull refurbishment. During the day she recharged the batteries of visiting British, French, and American subs docked alongside, while her crewmen discretely visited and familiarized themselves with the tactics and techniques of Italy‘s new allies. At night, Vortice would sometimes make short proficiency “cruises” leaving Taranto late at night (sometimes with canvas over the conning tower and false lighting to make her appear as a fishing trawler) to conduct training dives in the Mediterranean, always returning again before sunrise.

In 1952 the naval restrictions of the Treaty Of Paris expired and there was no longer any need to hide Vortice’s activities. She assumed a submarine hull number and was the first Italian submarine to participate in NATO exercises.

Displacement: 866t surfaced, 1058t submerged Dimensions: 207’2”x22’9”x15’10” Machinery: Diesel-electric: 2 CV2400 diesels, 2 electric motors (w/lead-acid batteries), 2 shafts w/non-CP props Max speed: 16kts surfaced, 8kts snorkeling, 8kts submerged Diving depth: 263’ test, 400’ crush Complement: 49 (5 officers, 44 enlisted)

x6 (4 bow, 2 aft) 21” tubes, 14 total torpedoes (WWII-era USN straight-running types)

SS-2 (I)                         25NM surface/low-alt air search (after refit)