An item reported that the more and more details became known about the submarine Belloni take with him pretending that he needed her for wireless telegraphy experiments. First was thought that she was built for Romania , later for Russia but finally it was reported that she was ordered by Germany but could not be delivered due to the neutrality. Two German officers who came to Spezzia to guard the bout were banished when they made sketches of the defence works of the town. As result was the contract cancelled by the German cabinet saying that they did not needed her anymore. Belloni offered it to France and disappeared with the boat towards Ajaccio. The French cabinet seized her on behalf of Italy and according to rumours was she again underway to Spezzia escorted by an Italian destroyer.(1)
Note
1. The newspaper Het nieuws van den dag dated 8 October reported that’s she was built at the shipyard of Friat San Giorgio, Spezzia and was commanded by reserve lieutenant Belloni with a crew numbering 15 men. The Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant dated 24 October reported that she was still lying in Ajaccio and that the French cabinet did not allow her to depart until a judgment of the French court in a lawsuit against the shipyard. The German newspaper Frankfurter Zeitung received tidings from Rome that Belloni stated that he take the boat with him after consultation with the board. Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1906-1921 mentioned several submarines built at this shipyard in this period of which one some for Germany. This publication mentioned the Argonauta ordered by Russia in 1913 and launched on 5 July 1914 as the Russian Svyatoy Georgi. A young lieutenant take her in 1914 away from the yard when she was still known under her yard number 43 towards the Adriatic apparently to attack Austrian shipping and in this manner forcing Italy to give up her neutrality. She was seized by France while lying in Corsica and given back to Italy which bought her a year later from Russia. She was renamed Argonauta in the Italian navy and finally stricken in 1928. This must be the same submarine as reported in the Dutch newspapers. In British, Italian and German newspapers there seems to be a large number of items published dealing with this affaire. She had a displacement of 255 (surfaced)-306 tons submerged and as dimensions 45,1 x 5,2 x 3,0 metres or 148’x 13’9’x 9’10”. The armament consisted of 2-17.7”/45cm bow torpedo tubes.
