French submarine Le Tonnant (Q172)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Le Tonnant |
| Namesake | Thunderer |
| Operator | French Navy |
| Builder | Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer, France |
| Laid down | 10 January 1931 |
| Launched | 15 December 1934 |
| Commissioned | 1 June 1937 |
| Homeport | Toulon, France |
| Fate | Scuttled 15 November 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Redoutable-class submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 92.3 m (302 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 8.1 m (26 ft 7 in)[1] |
| Draft | 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) (surfaced) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 80 m (262 ft) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
Le Tonnant was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1937. 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
Le Tonnant was part of a fairly homogeneous series of 31 deep-sea patrol submarines also called "1,500-tonners" because of their displacement. All entered service between 1931 and 1939.
The Redoutable-class submarines were 92.3 metres (302 ft 10 in) long and 8.1 metres (26 ft 7 in) in
Construction and commissioning
Service history
1937–1939
In 1937, the French Navy decided that Le Tonnant and her sister ship Le Conquérant would make an extended cruise to Southeast Asia to test the endurance of French submariners and their equipment.[3] Prior to their departure, an incident occurred on board Le Tonnant while she was conducting diesel engine tests at La Seyne-sur-Mer in which two members of her crew plotted to seize control of her and deliver her to the Spanish Republican Navy for service in the Spanish Civil War.[3] Their attempt to take control of Le Tonnant failed and the two ringleaders were imprisoned.[3]
Le Tonnant made her endurance cruise to Southeast Asia in 1938, and from 1 April 1938 she was based in French Indochina,[3] where Le Conquérant joined her in May 1938.[4] Their stay in French Indochina ended in October 1938[3][4] and they returned to Toulon, France, which they both reached on 15 December 1938.[3][4]
World War II
At the start of
In February 1940, Le Tonnant deployed to
In March 1940, Le Tonnant and Le Glorieux participated in a search for a disabled British cargo ship, SS Hartismere, which had suffered machinery damage.[3] On 11 April 1940, Le Tonnant, Le Glorieux, and Le Conquérant took part in exercises off Dakar with the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Decoy.[2] Later in April, Le Tonnant moved to Casablanca, then to Oran.[3]
German ground forces advanced into France, beginning the
Vichy France
After France's surrender, Le Tonnant served in the naval forces of Vichy France, initially in the 1st Submarine Division at Toulon with Le Conquérant, Le Héros, and Le Glorieux.[3] On 17 August 1940, she was disarmed and defueled at Toulon in accordance with the terms of the 1940 armistice.[3]
Le Tonnant was rearmed on 8 April 1941 and subsequently deployed to Casablanca in July 1941 and to Dakar in November 1941.
On 8 November 1942,
After embarking 10 volunteers from other submarines — nine of them from the submarine Amphitrite — to flesh out her crew, Le Tonnant got underway at 18:35 on 8 November 1942 with only four torpedoes aboard in an attempt to reach Toulon or a neutral port or, if she failed in that, to scuttle herself to avoid capture.[3] Heading north along the coast of French Morocco, she passed El Hank and Fedala between 9 and 10 November 1942. then headed back toward Casablanca.[3] At 08:50 on 10 November, she detected a United States Navy task force north of Casablanca and launched all four of her torpedoes at Ranger, which avoided them.[3] Ranger′s escorts counterattacked and subjected her to a depth-charging, but inflicted no damage on her.[3] At 12:25, a U.S. Navy PBY Catalina bombed and damaged her.[3]
Unable to return to Casablanca, Le Tonnant proceeded to Cádiz in neutral Spain, arriving there on 14 November 1942.[3] Deciding that Le Tonnant could not make it to Toulon, her executive officer, still in command, decided to scuttle her.[3] After disembarking 45 crew members at Cádiz, Le Tonnant got underway with a skeleton crew on board consisting of her executive officer and five others.[3] After she reached the open sea, her executive officer opened her seacocks at 12:02 on 15 November 1942 and Le Tonnant sank.[3][2][9] All six men on board abandoned ship, and a Spanish trawler rescued them.[3]
References
Citations
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "FR Ajax of the French Navy – French Submarine of the Redoutable class – Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Allied Warships: FR Le Tonnant, uboat.net Accessed 11 August 2022
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin Le Tonnant (in French) Accessed 11 August 2022
- ^ a b c d Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin Le Conquérant (in French) Accessed 10 August 2022
- ^ Huan, p. 49.
- ^ Huan, p. 76.
- ^ a b Huan, p. 125.
- ^ Huan, p. 135.
- ^ Huan, p. 136.
Bibliography
- Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare). Santa Barbara, California. ISBN 978-1-85367-623-9.]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[verification needed - Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Huan, Claude (2004). Les Sous-marins français 1918–1945 (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. ISBN 9782915379075.
- Picard, Claude (2006). Les Sous-marins de 1 500 tonnes (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. ISBN 2-915379-55-6.