TIMOTHY J. GIBBONS/The Times-Union The ITS Scire sits at dock at Mayport Naval Station. The Italian submarine is taking part in a training exercise.
Posted on 09/12/2009 4:31:00 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Stealthy Italian submarine will train with U.S. Navy
The ITS Scire is paying a visit to Mayport to take part in a Joint Task Force Exercise.
By Timothy J. Gibbons
From its high-tech fuel cell engine to its automated torpedo loading system, the ITS Scire proudly shows off the advanced technology crammed into its narrow body.
But being on the crew of a cutting-edge fighting vessel doesn't mean one has to ignore the comforts of life - which perhaps is why cans of extra virgin olive oil manage to find a corner amid the fearsome torpedoes.
From the espresso machine outside the galley to the pizza the cook makes each night for those working the midnight shift, little touches help make the work more enjoyable for the 28-man crew of the Scire, the most modern vessel in the Italian fleet.
"These are things that make us comfortable," said Lt. Sebastiano Rossitto, the Scire's executive officer. "It's more than eating."
But the focus is on leveraging that technology, particularly a fuel cell that produces electricity from hydrogen and oxygen, allowing the boat to stay submerged for three weeks while running completely silently.
That ability will be put to the test over the next week as the Scire takes part in a Joint Task Force Exercise being held off the coast of Jacksonville.
The second Italian boat to visit the United States since the end of World War II - the first stopped by Mayport in 2008 - the crew of the Scire has been working on its role in the Joint Task Force Exercise for the past six months.
The exercise, centered on the strike group led by the USS Harry S. Truman, is designed to test the group's reaction to a variety of wartime scenarios as the carrier prepares for
(Excerpt) Read more at jacksonville.com ...
TIMOTHY J. GIBBONS/The Times-Union The ITS Scire sits at dock at Mayport Naval Station. The Italian submarine is taking part in a training exercise.
I sneaka-up on you!
These probably are the quietest submarines ever built.
Gotta give the Italians full credit: I don’t know whether this is a good war-fighting vessel or not, but it is certainly exquisitely styled. Italian designers build some of the most beautiful articles on earth.
It’s actually a German design (Type 212A) built in Italy.
Mayport is on the River of May named by the French who founded a colony at Fort Caroline, across the river. The colony was destroyed by the Spanish prior to the founding of St Augustine.
It’s beautiful either way. The Germans are no slouches at design, either.
I bet that vessel just slides thru the water with hardly a wake...
Wouldn’t that be a fun vessel to take for a cruise? I could think of worse ways to see the South Pacific islands, ay.
No mention of submarine sangwiches???? Ma!
Well, I’d rather be on that sub than ANY surface ship remotely near it in a shooting war.
Use your noodle, mate.
I don’t know Italian and so I can’t figure out ‘ITS’ other than ‘Submarino Italiano’ would not be an acceptable prefix for obvious reasons. Anyone here with the requisite language skill?
Germans are without dispute the best engineers. Italian engineering is so-so, but they create some of the most visually appealing items in the world. I wonder if Italians were responsible for that gorgeous navy blue paint job. You wouldn’t be able to see that ship from the surface once it was ten meters down.
(vaquero is an American (NY) of Italian extraction)
(In 1966 my buddy...of sicilian extraction asked me while driving to HS in our senior year...."hey did you see that star trek show last night..called "the doomsday machine"...yeah, ya know a giant Ma-ni-gaught attacked the Enterprise....it was cool.
yummy
Hard to if it spends half its lifetime in the repair yard. Just like any other beautiful on the outside, high-maintenence on the inside Italian piece of machinery.
“You know the Germans make great stuff” - Vince, the Sham Wow guy.
The Type-214 cannot considered a derivative of the 212. It’s a Type-209 with the fuel cell AIP-that’s about it. It doesn’t have the same combat system or anti-magnetic hull. You could say that its the newest AIP vessel around since the Swedish Gotland class has been around longer along with the French MESMA system.
An espresso machine and nightly pizza?
I wonder if the Italian navy needs any volunteers?
ping
She comes of distinguished patronage. The original Scire almost cost the Allies the Mediterranean and perhaps the war. She was the transport for the premier aquatic spec ops unit of the war, the Decima Mas under the command of Valerio Borghese.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_submarine_Scir%C3%A8_%281938%29
Pizza for midrats? You know that has to beat gut bombs (over cooked hamburgers) even if they didn't use EVOO in them.
Click on pic for past Navair pings.
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Cave Emptor....ping
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