French submarine Monge (Q144)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Monge |
| Namesake | Gaspard Monge (1746–1818), French mathematician |
| Operator | French Navy |
| Builder | Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer, France |
| Laid down | 15 September 1927 |
| Launched | 25 June 1929 |
| Commissioned | 19 June 1932 |
| Homeport | Toulon, France |
| Fate | Sunk 8 May 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 |
|
Monge was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1932. 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 until she was sunk in 1942.
Characteristics
Monge 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
Monge was authorized under the 1925 naval program.
Service history
1932–1939
Among officers serving aboard Monge during the mid-1930s was François Drogou (1904–1940), later a recipient of the Order of Liberation.[4]
Monge and her sister ship Pégase departed Toulon, France, on 16 December 1936 for a deployment to French Indochina in Southeast Asia, where they remained from January to March 1937.[2][5] They then returned to Toulon, which they reached on 15 May 1937.[2][5]
World War II
At the start of World War II in September 1939, Monge was assigned to the 5th Submarine Division in the 3rd Submarine Squadron, 1st Flotilla, 2nd Squadron, based at Toulon.[2][6] Her sister ships L'Espoir and Pégase made up the rest of the division[2][6]
German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning the
Vichy France
After France's surrender, Monge served in the naval forces of
On 23 October 1940, the submarines got underway from Dakar to patrol off the Canary Islands.[5] They encountered very heavy weather, and Pégase suffered damage to one of her diving planes.[5] The submarines returned to Dakar on 28 October 1940.[5] Subsequently, the submarines took turns conducting defensive patrols 10 to 35 nautical miles (19 to 65 km; 12 to 40 mi) off Dakar.[5]
On 17 December 1940, Lot and the four submarines got underway from Dakar to continue the voyage to French Indochina, with their next stop at
The Lot Group′s departure for French Indochina was delayed when the commanding officer of Monge, who also served as commander of the 22nd Submarine Division and of the Lot Group as a whole, became extremely
After the completion of repairs, Monge and Pégase departed Saigon on 15 March 1941 for a two-month cruise to make "representation" visits to ports along the coast of French Indochina.[2][5] They stopped first at Cam Ranh,[2][5] pausing to hold a memorial service in the South China Sea over the wreck of their sister ship Phénix, lost with all hands in a diving accident on 15 June 1939.[2][9] They then visited Qui Nhon and Haiphong in French Indochina and Fort Bayard in Kouang-Tcheou-Wan, China, before beginning their return journey, stopping in French Indochina at Hạ Long Bay, Cape Varella, Tourane, and Cam Ranh before returning to Saigon in mid-May 1941.[2][5]
On 19 May 1941, Monge and Pégase were placed under the command of the admiral commanding French naval forces in French Indochina.[2] During the rest of May and in June 1941, they conducted training trips off French Indochina.[2] Monge then underwent a major refit at Saigon.[2]
After the completion of her refit, Monge was reassigned to Diego-Suarez.[10] She departed French Indochina on 6[2] or 7[5][10] September 1941 (according to different sources) to return to Madagascar,[5] escorting a convoy.[2] She arrived at Diego-Suarez on 7 October 1941.[2]
After unloading two of her
On 30 January 1942, Monge got underway for Tamatave to rendezvous there with the French cargo ship Amiral Pierre, which she had orders to escort to Réunion.[2][12] The two vessels departed Tamatave on 1 February and arrived at Pointe des Galets on Réunion on 4 February 1942.[2] After Amiral Pierre unloaded her cargo, they began their return voyage to Tamatave on 14 February 1942.[2] Monge′s crew enjoyed a rest period at Tamatave until 20 February 1942,[2] when Monge got underway to return to Diego-Suarez, which she reached on 22 February 1942 after an absence of 22 days during which she had traveled 1,600 nautical miles (2,963 km; 1,841 mi).[2]
On 1 May 1942, Monge began another voyage to Réunion, escorting the cargo ship Condé.[2][12] While she was at Saint-Denis on Réunion, the Battle of Madagascar began with British amphibious landings near Diego-Suarez early on 5 May 1942.[2] At 03:15 on 5 May, Monge received orders to take up position in a patrol area just north of Diego-Suarez and east of Cap d'Ambre — the northern tip of Madagascar — and to attack any British ships she encountered during her voyage from Réunion.[2] Monge got underway from Saint-Denis immediately, proceeded to her assigned patrol area, and began a submerged patrol.[2]
Loss
At 07:55 on 8 May 1942, Monge fired a torpedo at the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable.[2] The destroyers HMS Active and HMS Panther sighted Monge and counterattacked immediately.[2] Active dropped ten depth charges at 08:06 and ten more at 08:18.[2] Panther then also attacked with depth charges.[2] The attacks sank Monge in the Indian Ocean off Diego-Suarez with the loss of her entire crew of 69.[2][3][13]
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 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 al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin Monge II (in French) Accessed 30 August 2022
- ^ a b c d Allied Warships: FR Monge, uboat.net Accessed 1 August 2022
- ISBN 978-2-356-39033-2..
- ^ 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 u-boote.fr PÉGASE (in French) Accessed 26 August 2022
- ^ a b Huan, p. 49.
- ^ Picard, p. 61.
- ^ Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin L'Espoir (in French) Accessed 5 August 2022
- ^ u-boote.fr PHÉNIX (in French) Accessed 3 August 2022
- ^ a b Picard, p. 48.
- ^ Picard, p. 47.
- ^ a b Huan, p. 129.
- ^ Huan, pp. 130–131.
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.