Medusa was one of seven s built for the Italian: [[Regia Marina]] (Royal Italian Navy) during the early 1930s.
The Argonauta class was derived from the earlier s. They displaced 650LT surfaced and 800LT submerged. The submarines were 61.5m (201.8feet) long, had a beam of 5.7m (18.7feet) and a draft of 4.7m (15.4feet). They had an operational diving depth of 80m (260feet). Their crew numbered 44 officers and enlisted men.[1]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 7500NaN0 diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 400hp electric motor. They could reach 14kn on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the Settembrini class had a range of 5000nmi at ;[1] submerged, they had a range of 110nmi at .[2]
The boats were armed with six 53.3cm (21inches) torpedo tubes, four in the bow and two in the stern for which they carried a total of 12 torpedoes. They were also armed with a single 102mm deck gun forward of the conning tower for combat on the surface. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two single 13.2adj=onNaNadj=on machine guns.[1]
Medusa was laid down by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico at their Monfalcone shipyard in 1929–1930, launched on 10 December 1931 and completed the following year.[1] Medusa was torpedoed and sunk on 30 January 1942 in the Adriatic near Promontore, Istria by the submarine HMS Thorn.