Italian submarine Balilla (1927)

Balilla was the lead ship of her class of four submarines built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) during the late 1920s.

Design and description
The Balilla-class submarines were the first cruiser submarines built for the Regia Marina. They displaced 1427 LT surfaced and 1874 LT submerged. The submarines were 86.5 m long, had a beam of 7.8 m and a draft of 4.7 m. They had an operational diving depth of 110 m. Their crew numbered 77 officers and enlisted men.

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 2450 bhp diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 1100 hp electric motor. The submarines were also fitted with an auxiliary diesel cruising engine that gave them a speed of 7 kn on the surface. They could reach a maximum speed of 17.5 kn on the surface and 8 kn underwater. On the surface, the Balilla class had a range of 12000 nmi at 7 knots; submerged, they had a range of 110 nmi at 3 kn.

The boats were armed with six internal 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, four in the bow and two in the stern, for which they carried a dozen torpedoes. They were also armed with a single 120 mm deck gun, forward of the conning tower, for combat on the surface. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 13.2 mm machine guns.

Construction and career
Ballila was laid down on 12 January 1925 at the Odero-Terni-Orlando shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia. She was launched on 20 February 1927 and completed on 21 July 1928.