Circé-class submarine (1907)
Appearance
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Class overview | |
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Name | Circé class |
Builders | Arsenal de Toulon |
Operators | ![]() |
Preceded by | Émeraude class |
Succeeded by | Guêpe class |
Built | 1905–1909 |
In commission | 1909–1918 |
Completed | 2 |
Lost | 2 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Type | Submarine |
Displacement | |
Length | 47.13 m (154 ft 8 in) ( o/a ) |
Beam | 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in) |
Draft | 3.24 m (10 ft 8 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Complement | 2 officers and 20 crewmen |
Armament | 6 × external 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo launchers (4 × fixed, 2 × Drzewiecki drop collars ) |
The Circé-class submarines consisted of a pair of
First World War
and the other was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the last year of the war.
Design and description
The Circé class were built as part of the French Navy's 1904 building program to a double-hull design by Maxime Laubeuf.[1] The submarines displaced 361 metric tons (355 long tons) surfaced and 498 metric tons (490 long tons) submerged. They had an overall length of 47.13 meters (154 ft 8 in), a beam of 4.9 meters (16 ft 1 in), and a draft of 3.24 meters (10 ft 8 in). Their crew numbered 2 officers and 20 enlisted men.[2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two German
propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 180-metric-horsepower (178 bhp; 132 kW) electric motor. During their sea trials in 1908, they reached maximum speeds of 11.9 knots (22.0 km/h; 13.7 mph) on the surface and 7.3–7.7 knots (13.5–14.3 km/h; 8.4–8.9 mph) underwater.[3] The Circé class had a surface endurance of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph)[1] and a submerged endurance of 76 nmi (141 km; 87 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).[4]
The boats were armed with six external 450-millimeter (17.7 in)
traverse 150 degrees to each side of the boat. A support for a 37-millimeter (1.5 in) deck gun was ordered to be installed on 29 March 1911, but the gun itself was never fitted.[5]
Ships
Ship | Builder[1] | Laid down[6] |
Launched[1] | Commissioned[7] | Fate[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Calypso (Q48) | Arsenal de Toulon |
1905 | 22 October 1907 | 5 August 1909 | Sunk in a collision with Circé, 7 July 1914 |
Circé (Q47) | 13 September 1907 | 1 August 1909 | Sunk by SM U-47, 20 September 1918 |
See also
Notes
Bibliography
- Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Garier, Gérard (2002). A l'épreuve de la Grande Guerre. L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 3–2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-81-5.
- Garier, Gérard (1998). Des Émeraude (1905-1906) au Charles Brun (1908–1933). L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-34-3.
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). "Classement par types". Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 2, 1870 - 2006. Toulon: Roche. OCLC 165892922.