Each class of submarines had a unique naming pattern, though there were a few exceptions.
Adua Class
Boats were named after famous places in Italian East Africa (AOI); Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia. Mostly linked to war events.
Ammiragli and Pisani Classes
Boats named after famous admirals thought Italian history.
Argo
Boats were named after mythological sea monsters.
Argonauta, Foca, and Glouco, and Tritone Classes
Boats were named after sea creatures, real or mythological.
Balilla Class
Boats named after Italian war heroes.
Brin Class
Boats were named after scientists and or historians.
Calvi, Liuzzi, and Mameli Classes
Boats were named after Italian patriots.
Marcello Class
Boats were named after famous Italian noble families.
Marconi Class
Boats named after Italian scientists.
Perla, Platino and Sirena Classes
Boats were named after gems or stones.
R
Boats were named after mythological figures.
Settembrini Class
Boats were named after famous statesman.
Boat | Class | Full Name (English) | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Acciaio | Platino | Steel | Metal |
Adua | Adua | Adwa | The Battle of Adwa was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War |
Alabastro | Platino | Alabaster | Stone |
Alagi | Adua | Alagi | Amba Alagi, a mountain in Ethiopia |
Alessandro Malaspina | Marconi | Alessandro Malaspina | A Tuscan explorer who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer |
Alpino Bagnolini | Liuzzi | Alpino Attilio Bagnolini | A gold Medal for Valor who died in 1936 in the battle of Mai Ceu (Ethiopia) |
Ambra | Perla | Amber | Hard, clear yellowish-brown gum |
Ametista | Sirena | Amethyst | Precious stone |
Ammiraglio Cagni | Ammiragli | Admiral Cagni | Italian admiral and explorer |
Ammiraglio Caracciolo | Ammiragli | Admiral Caracciolo | Admiral of the Napolitan navy |
Ammiraglio Millo | Ammiragli | Admiral Millo | Admiral of the Italian navy |
Ammiraglio Saint Bon | Ammiragli | Admiral Saint Bon | Italian admiral, he was awarded the gold medal at Lissa |
Anfitrite | Sirena | Amphitrite | Precious stone |
Antonio Sciesa | Balilla | Antonio Sciesa | Italian patriot executed by the Austrians |
Aradam | Adua | Aradam | Amba Aradam, a mountain in Ethiopia |
Archimede | Archimede | Archimedes | Greek colonist in Sicily, mathematician and physicist |
Argento | Platino | Silver | Metal |
Argo | Argo | Argon | Monster of Greek mythology with one hundred eyes |
Argonauta | Argonauta | Argonaut | A pelagic cephalopod |
Ascianghi | Adua | Ascianghi | Lake in Ethiopia and site of a battle |
Asteria | Platino | Asteriated Corundum | Stone |
Atropo | Foca | Atropos | On of the three Fates of the Greek mythology |
Avorio | Platino | Ivory | White substance forming the tusks of elephants |
Axum | Adua | Axum | Town in Northen Ethiopia |
Balilla | Balilla | Balilla | Young fascist boy |
Barbarigo | Marcello | Barbarigo | Noble family of Venice |
Bausan | Pisani | Giovanni Bausan | Officer of the navy |
Beilul | Adua | Beilul | A town in Eritrea |
Berillo | Perla | beryllium | Mineral based on the chemical element beryllium |
Brin | Brin | Benedetto Brin | Italian statesman, minister of the Navy and naval designer |
Bronzo | Platino | Bronze | Alloy |
Capitano Tarantini | Liuzzi | Capitano Raffaele Tarantini | Engineer and captain of the Italian Army who died in Ethiopia |
Cernia | Tritone | Grouper | Sea creature |
Ciro Menotti | Bandiera | Ciro Menotti | Italian patriot |
Cobalto | Platino | Cobalt | Chemical element |
Comandante Cappellini | Marcello | Commander Alfredo Cappellini | He was the commander of the warship Palestro at the battle of Lissa |
Comandante Faa Di Bruno | Marcello | Commander Emilio Faa Di Bruno | He was the commander of the ship Re d’Italia at the battle of Lissa |
Console Generale Liuzzi | Liuzzi | General Consul Alberto Liuzzi | A general Consul of the Fascist Black Shirt |
Corallo | Perla | Coral | Hard, red, pink or white substance built on the seabed by small creatures |
Corridoni | Bragadin | Filippo Corridoni | Italian socialist and syndicalism |
Da Procida | Mameli | Giovanni da Procida | Ruler of Procida in Sicily, follower of Manfredi, against the Angevin |
Dagabur | Adua | Dagabur | Locality between Somalia and Ethiopia |
Dandolo | Marcello | Dandolo | Noble family of Venice, |
Delfino | Squalo | Dolphin | Sea creature |
Dentice | Tritone | Dentex | Sea creature |
Des Geneys | Pisani | Giorgio des Geneys | An Italian admiral from Genoa |
Dessiè | Adua | Dessiè | City of Ethiopia, capital of the Walla province |
Diamante | Sirena | Diamond | Precious stone |
Diaspro | Perla | Jasper | Semi-precious stone, red, yellow or brown |
Durbo | Adua | Durbo | A Somali coastal town on the Gulf of Aden |
Emo | Marcello | Emo | Noble family of Venice, |
Enrico Tazzoli | Calvi | Enrico Tazzoli | Italian patriot |
Ettore Fieramosca | Fieramosca | Ettore Fieramosca | Nobleman of Capua, famous for the duel of Barletta |
Evangelista Torricelli | Archimede | Evangelista Torricelli | Physicist and mathematician, follower of Galilei |
Fisalia | Argonauta | Fisalia | A marine floating coelenterate forming the sea plankton |
Flutto | Tritone | Wave | Sea creature |
Foca | Foca | Seal | Kinds of mammals of the sea with fur and flippers |
Fratelli Bandiera | Bandiera | Fratelli Bandiera | Italian patriots of Venice |
Galatea | Sirena | Galatea | Precious stone |
Galileo Ferraris | Archimede | Galileo Ferraris | Italian engineer and physicist |
Galileo Galilei | Archimede | Galileo Galilei | Physicist, astronomer and philosopher |
Galvani | Brin | Luigi Galvani | Italian scientist |
Gemma | Perla | Gem | Precious stone or jewel |
Giada | Platino | Jade | Stone |
Giuseppe Finzi | Calvi | Giuseppe Finzi | Italian patriot and politician |
Glauco | Glauco | Glaucus | A character of Greek mythology |
Gondar | Adua | Gondar | Town in Ethiopia, theater of a battle |
Gorgo | Tritone | Eddy | Sea creature |
Granito | Platino | Granite | Stone |
Gronco | Tritone | Gruger eel | Sea creature |
Guglielmo Marconi | Marconi | Guglielmo Marconi | Italian scientist and inventor |
Guglielmotti | Brin | Alberto Guglielmotti | Dominican friar, fan of naval history and author of many writings |
Iride | Perla | Iris | Kinds of flowering plant |
Jalea | Argonauta | Jalea | Sea creature |
Jantina | Argonauta | Jantina | Family of small floating gastropod |
Lafolè | Adua | Lafolè | Village in Somalia, where an Italian expedition force was slain |
Leonardo Da Vinci | Marconi | Leonardo Da Vinci | A genius of Italian Renaissance |
Luciano Manara | Bandiera | Luciano Manara | Italian patriot |
Luigi Torelli | Marconi | Luigi Torelli | A member of diverse scientific and economic institutions |
Macallè | Adua | Macallè | Town in Ethiopia |
Maggiore Baracca | Marconi | Major Francesco Baracca | Ace of the Italian Air Force in the First World War |
Malachite | Perla | Malachite | Kind of green stone used for ornaments |
Mameli | Mameli | Goffredo Mameli | Italian patriot and poet, author of the lyrics of the Italian national anthem |
Marcantonio Bragadin | Bragadin | Marcantonio Bragadin | Admiral of the Venetian fleet |
Marcantonio Colonna | Pisani | Marcantonio Colonna | Admiral of Pope Pius V, was the supreme commander at the battle of Lepanto |
Marcello | Marcello | Marcello | Noble family of Venice, |
Marea | Tritone | Tide | Sea creature |
Medusa | Argonauta | Jellyfish | Sea creature |
Micca | Micca | Pietro Micca | Italian patriot |
Michele Bianchi | Marconi | Michele Bianchi | Italian politician, one of the founders of the Fascist Party in Italy |
Millelire | Balilla | Domenico Millelire | Captain of the Sardinian navy |
Mocenigo | Marcello | Mocenigo | Noble family of Venice, |
Morosini | Marcello | Morosini | Noble family of Venice, |
Murena | Tritone | Moray eel | Sea creature |
Naiade | Sirena | Naiad | Precious stone |
Nani | Marcello | Nani | Noble family of Venice, |
Narvalo | Squalo | Narwhal | Sea creature |
Nautilo | Tritone | Nautilus | Sea creature |
Neghelli | Adua | Neghelli | Place in Ethiopia, theater of a battle |
Nereide | Sirena | Nereid | Precious stone |
Nichelio | Platino | Nickel | Metal |
Ondina | Sirena | Undine | Precious stone |
Onice | Perla | Onyx | Sorts of quartz in layers of different |
Otaria | Glauco | Otary | A sea-animal similar to a seal |
Perla | Perla | Pearl | Silvery-white or bluish-white round deposit found inside some oysters |
Pier Capponi | Mameli | Pier Capponi | Statesman of Florence under the Medici |
Pietro Calvi | Calvi | Pietro Calvi | Italian patriot |
Platino | Platino | Platinum | Metal |
Porfido | Platino | Porphyry | Stone |
Provana | Marcello | Provana | Noble family of Piedmont, |
Reginaldo Giuliani | Liuzzi | Reginaldo Giuliani | Military chaplain in Eastern Africa, he died in the battle of Tembien |
Remo | R | Remus | A son of Mars |
Romolo | R | Romulus | A son of Mars, |
Rubino | Sirena | Ruby | Precious stone |
Ruggiero Settimo | Settembrini | Ruggiero Settimo | Italian statesman, in the Kingdom of the two Sicilies |
Salpa | Argonauta | Salpa | Sea creature |
Santorre Santarosa | Bandiera | Santorre Santarosa | Italian patriot |
Scirè | Adua | Scirè | Region of northern Ethiopia , theater of a battle |
Serpente | Argonauta | Snake | Any of numerous limbless scaled reptiles |
Settembrini | Settembrini | Settembrini | Italian patriot and writer |
Sirena | Sirena | Mermaid | Precious stone |
Smeraldo | Sirena | Emerald | Precious stone |
Sparide | Tritone | Sparides | Sea creature |
Speri | Mameli | Hope | Italian patriot |
Spigola | Tritone | Sea bass | Sea creature |
Squalo | Squalo | Shark | Sea creature |
Tembien | Adua | Tembien | Mountain region in northern Ethiopia , theater of a battle |
Topazio | Sirena | Topaz | Precious stone |
Toti | Balilla | Enrico Toti | Hero of the First World War |
Tricheco | Squalo | Walrus | Sea creature |
Tritone | Tritone | Triton | Sea creature |
Turchese | Perla | Turquoise | Greenish-blue precious stone |
Uarsciek | Adua | Uarsciek | Port of Benadir in Somalia |
Uebi Scebeli | Adua | Uebi Shebeli | The main river (Wabi) of East Africa |
Velella | Argo | Velella | Sea animal (similar to the medusa) |
Veniero | Marcello | Veniero | Noble family of Venice, |
Vettor Pisani | Pisani | Vettor Pisani | Venetian admiral |
Volframio | Platino | Volframio | Metal |
Vortice | Tritone | Vortex | Sea creature |
Zaffiro | Sirena | Sapphire | Precious stone |
Zoea | Foca | Zoea | Sea animal, it is the larva of some crustacea |