French submarine Galatée (Q132)
 Submarines moored at Lamoune Wharf at Oran, Algeria, on 31 May 1934. Galatée (conning tower marking "GL") is in the foreground. Caïman is in the background.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Galatée |
| Namesake | Galatea |
| Ordered | 30 June 1922 |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire, France |
| Laid down | 1 February 1924 |
| Launched | 18 December 1925 |
| Commissioned | 6 May 1927 |
| Fate | |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
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| Length | 64 m (210 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in) |
| Speed |
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| Range | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 7.5 kn (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) |
| Complement | 41 |
| Armament |
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Galatée (Q132) was a French Navy Sirène-class submarine commissioned in 1927. She participated in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from 1939 to June 1940, then in the navy of Vichy France. She was scuttled in November 1942.
Characteristics
The Sirène-class submarines had a displacement of 609 long tons (619 t) surfaced and 757 long tons (769 t) submerged.t They had an endurance of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph), with a maximum surface speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph), and a submerged speed of 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph). Their armament was seven torpedo tubes (three forward, two amidships, and two aft) and carried 13 torpedoes. As with all French submarines of this period, the midships torpedo tubes were fitted externally in trainable mounts. The submarines had a single 75 mm (3 in) and two 8 mm machine guns, and were manned by crews of 41 men.
Construction and commissioning
Ordered on 30 June 1922 and Laid down at Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire in Saint-Nazaire, France, on 1 February 1924 with the pennant number Q132, Galatée was launched on 18 December 1925.[1] She was commissioned on 6 May 1927.[1]
Service history
On 29 December 1927, a compressed air cylinder exploded aboard Galatée while she was moored at the Toulon arsenal in Toulon, France, with no one aboard. The explosion knocked down several bulkheads and demolished the cupboards in the commanding officer's cabin. Investigators assessed that there could have been a substantial loss of life if her crew had been aboard.[2]
The Battle of France began when German ground forces advanced into France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940. The threat of Italian entry into the war increased thereafter, and in response the French on 26 May began stationing two Toulon-based submarines — Galatée among them — on a rotating basis at Îles d'Hyères, from which they could reach defensive patrol areas off Nice and Saint-Tropez within two hours.[1] On 1 June 1940, as tensions with Italy continued to increase, the French began stationing two submarines on the coast of Corsica, with Sirène taking station that day on alert at Calvi and Galatée at Ajaccio.[1] On 5 June, Galatée relieved Sirène at Calvi and went on one-hour alert to get underway there, while Sirène moved to Ajaccio for a rest period.[1]
Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and joined the invasion of France that day. From 10 to 19 June, Galatée and Sirène took turns maintaining a defensive patrol in the Tyrrhenian Sea off Bastia and Alistro on the east coast of Corsica.[1] The submarines Céres and Pallas relieved them of this duty on 19 June 1940.[1]
The Battle of France ended in France's defeat and armistice with Germany and Italy, which went into effect on 25 June 1940.
Vichy France
After the armistice went into effect, Galatée served in the naval forces of Vichy France. On 3 July 1940, a British Royal Navy squadron attacked a French Navy squadron moored at the naval base at Mers El Kébir near Oran on the coast of Algeria, and, with tensions with the United Kingdom running high, Sirène, Galatée, and the submarines Diamant, La Sultane, and Perle anchored on alert at Vignettes on 9 July 1940 in case the British attempted an attack on Toulon.[1]
The 19th Submarine Division was dissolved on 1 September 1940.[4] Its submarines were integrated into the 5th Squadron of the 1st Submarine Force.[3]
From 16 June to 30 July 1941, Galatée underwent a major refit in a
Final disposition
The Germans seized Galatée and handed her over to the Italians, who refloated her on either 2 December 1942[1] or 25 June 1943,[3] according to different sources. She was placed in reserve at the Toulon arsenal.[3]
After Italy
She was scuttled on 17 March 1949.See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o GALATÉE (in French) Accessed 26 March 2023
- ^ "Une BOUTEILLE à AIR COMPRIME EXPLOSE A BORD DU SOUS-MARIN "GALATEE"," Le Petit Journal, 30 December 1927 (in French) at u-boote.fr GALATÉE Accessed 26 March 2023
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sous marin côtier de 2ème classe ou 600 tonnes Classe Sirène 2" (PDF). AGASM (in French). 27 May 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2023..
- ^ u-boote.fr SIRÈNE (in French) Accessed 19 March 2023
Bibliography
- Bagnasco, E :Submarines of World War Two (1977) ISBN 0-85368-331-X
- Conway : Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 (1980) ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5
- Moulin, Jean (2006). Les sous-marins français (in French). Rennes: ISBN 2-915379-40-8., pp. 22–23.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1927 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1949 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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