Suppose four solid iron balls are placed in a cylinder with the radius of 1 cm, such that every two of the four balls are tangent to each other, and the two balls in the lower layer are tangent to the cylinder base. Now put water into the cylinder. Find, in $\text{cm}^2$, the volume of water needed to submerge all the balls.
1. **Determine the radius and diameter of each sphere:**
   - Given that the radius of the cylinder is 1 cm, and each sphere is tangent to each other and the cylinder, the diameter of each sphere must be equal to the diameter of the cylinder.
   - Therefore, the diameter of each sphere is 2 cm.
   - The radius of each sphere is:
     \[
     r = \frac{2}{2} = 1 \text{ cm}
     \]

2. **Calculate the volume of one sphere:**
   - The volume \( V \) of a sphere is given by the formula:
     \[
     V = \frac{4}{3} \pi r^3
     \]
   - Substituting \( r = 1 \text{ cm} \):
     \[
     V = \frac{4}{3} \pi (1)^3 = \frac{4}{3} \pi \text{ cm}^3
     \]

3. **Calculate the total volume of the four spheres:**
   - Since there are four spheres, the total volume \( V_{\text{total}} \) is:
     \[
     V_{\text{total}} = 4 \times \frac{4}{3} \pi = \frac{16}{3} \pi \text{ cm}^3
     \]

4. **Determine the height of the cylinder:**
   - The height of the cylinder is equal to the combined height of two spheres stacked on top of each other (since the two lower spheres are tangent to the base and the two upper spheres are tangent to the lower spheres).
   - Therefore, the height \( h \) of the cylinder is:
     \[
     h = 2 \times \text{diameter of one sphere} = 2 \times 2 = 4 \text{ cm}
     \]

5. **Calculate the volume of the cylinder:**
   - The volume \( V_{\text{cylinder}} \) of the cylinder is given by the formula:
     \[
     V_{\text{cylinder}} = \pi r^2 h
     \]
   - Substituting \( r = 1 \text{ cm} \) and \( h = 4 \text{ cm} \):
     \[
     V_{\text{cylinder}} = \pi (1)^2 (4) = 4 \pi \text{ cm}^3
     \]

6. **Calculate the volume of water needed to submerge the spheres:**
   - The volume of water needed is the volume of the cylinder minus the total volume of the spheres:
     \[
     V_{\text{water}} = V_{\text{cylinder}} - V_{\text{total}} = 4 \pi - \frac{16}{3} \pi = \frac{12 \pi}{3} - \frac{16 \pi}{3} = \frac{-4 \pi}{3} \text{ cm}^3
     \]
   - Since the volume cannot be negative, we must have made an error in our initial assumptions. Let's re-evaluate the problem.

**Re-evaluation:**
- The initial assumption that the diameter of each sphere is 2 cm is incorrect. Given the radius of the cylinder is 1 cm, the diameter of each sphere should be 1 cm, and the radius should be 0.5 cm.

1. **Correct radius and diameter of each sphere:**
   - Diameter of each sphere: 1 cm
   - Radius of each sphere: 0.5 cm

2. **Correct volume of one sphere:**
   - Volume \( V \) of a sphere:
     \[
     V = \frac{4}{3} \pi (0.5)^3 = \frac{4}{3} \pi \left(\frac{1}{8}\right) = \frac{4}{24} \pi = \frac{1}{6} \pi \text{ cm}^3
     \]

3. **Correct total volume of the four spheres:**
   - Total volume \( V_{\text{total}} \):
     \[
     V_{\text{total}} = 4 \times \frac{1}{6} \pi = \frac{4}{6} \pi = \frac{2}{3} \pi \text{ cm}^3
     \]

4. **Correct height of the cylinder:**
   - Height \( h \) of the cylinder:
     \[
     h = 2 \times \text{diameter of one sphere} = 2 \times 1 = 2 \text{ cm}
     \]

5. **Correct volume of the cylinder:**
   - Volume \( V_{\text{cylinder}} \):
     \[
     V_{\text{cylinder}} = \pi (1)^2 (2) = 2 \pi \text{ cm}^3
     \]

6. **Correct volume of water needed to submerge the spheres:**
   - Volume of water needed:
     \[
     V_{\text{water}} = V_{\text{cylinder}} - V_{\text{total}} = 2 \pi - \frac{2}{3} \pi = \frac{6 \pi}{3} - \frac{2 \pi}{3} = \frac{4 \pi}{3} \text{ cm}^3
     \]

The final answer is \(\boxed{\frac{4 \pi}{3} \text{ cm}^3}\).