Antonio Sciesa was one of four s built for the (Royal Italian Navy) during the late 1920s. She played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936âÂÂ1939 supporting the Spanish Nationalists.
The Balilla-class submarines were the first cruiser submarines built for the . They displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long, had a beam of and a draft of . They had an operational diving depth of . Their crew numbered 77 officers and enlisted men.
For surface running, the boats were powered by two diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. The submarines were also fitted with an auxiliary diesel cruising engine that gave them a speed of on the surface. They could reach a maximum speed of on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the Balilla class had a range of at 7 knots; submerged, they had a range of at .
The boats were armed with six internal 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 deck gun, forward of the conning tower, for combat on the surface. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two machine guns.
Antonio Sciesa was laid down by Odero-Terni-Orlando at their Muggiano shipyard on 20 October 1925, launched on 12 August 1928 and completed on 12 April 1929. During the Spanish Civil War she unsuccessfully attacked two ships during a patrol off Alicante on 6âÂÂ20 August 1937.