French submarine Circé (1907)
History | |
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Name | Circé |
Namesake | Circe |
Builder | Arsenal de Toulon |
Laid down | 1905 |
Launched | 13 September 1907 |
Completed | 1 August 1909 |
Identification | Pennant number: Q47 |
Fate | Sunk by U-47, 20 September 1918 |
General characteristics as built | |
Class and type | Circé-class 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 ) |
Circé was the
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
The boats were armed with six external 450-millimeter (17.7 in)
Construction and career
The Circé-class submarines were ordered on 8 October 1904.
World War I
On 29 April 1915, Circé made several attempts to penetrate the harbour of
On 24 May 1917, under command of Lieutenant Hélion De Cambourg, she succeeded in sinking the German submarine SM UC-24. This was one of the few sinkings by a French submarine during World War I.
On 20 September 1918, Circé under command of Lt. Henri Viaud was on anti-submarine patrol in the Southern Adriatic Sea, off Cattaro, when she was torpedoed by the Austro-Hungarian Navy submarine SM U-47 at 04:00, while recharging her batteries. Only one survivor was rescued.
Citations
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.
External links
- La Circé on sous-marin.france
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Circe". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
- Wrecksite
- Testimony of the only survivor Eugène Lapeyre Archived 2015-12-23 at the Wayback Machine