French submarine Orphée
History | |
---|---|
France | |
Name | Orphée |
Namesake | poet and prophet in ancient Greek religion |
Operator | French Navy |
Ordered | 1928 |
Builder | Augustin Normand, Le Havre, France |
Laid down | 22 August 1929 |
Launched | 10 November 1931 |
Commissioned | 8 June 1933 |
Fate | Condemned 26 March 1946 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Diane-class submarine |
Displacement | |
Length | 64.4 m (211 ft 3 in) |
Beam | 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) |
Draft | 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Range |
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Test depth | 80 metres (262 ft) |
Complement | 3 officers, 38 men |
Armament |
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Orphée (Q163) was a French Navy Diane-class submarine commissioned in 1933. During World War II, she operated on the Allied side until 1940, when she became part of the naval forces of Vichy France. In 1942 she joined the Free French Naval Forces. She was condemned in 1946.
Construction and commissioning
Orphée was ordered in 1928 as part of Naval Program 115.
Service history
Pre-World War II
On 23 May 1933, Orphée lost a crewman.[1]
On 28 November 1934, the submarine Eurydice got underway from Cherbourg to conduct exercises with Orphée and Orphée′s sister ship Oréade.[3]
World War II
When World War II began on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, Orphée was part of the 16th Submarine Division — a part of the 1st Maritime Prefecture at the Submarine Center — at Cherbourg along with her sister ships Amazone, Antiope, and Sibylle.[1] France entered the war on the side of the Allies on 3 September 1939.
In 1940 the
On 8 April 1940 German U-boats began operations in accordance with Operationsbefehl Hartmut ("Operation Order Hartmut")[4] in support of Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway and Denmark. Allied operations related to Norway became of greater urgency when the German invasion of both countries began on 9 April 1940. The French submarines found limited facilities available to them at Harwich and had to rely largely on Jules Verne and spare parts sent from Cherbourg in France for repairs, some of which never were completed.[4] On 21 April 1940, Orphée fired two torpedoes at the German submarine U-51 in the North Sea at 57°N 005°E / 57°N 5°E, but both missed.[1]
German ground forces advanced into France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940, beginning the Battle of France. On 25 May 1940, Jules Verne and the submarines of the 2nd, 13th, and 16th Submarine Divisions arrived in Dundee, Scotland.[5] On 4 June 1940 Jules Verne and all the French submarines assigned to her departed Dundee and proceeded to Brest, France.[4]
The Battle of France ended in France's defeat and
Vichy France
After France′s surrender, Orphée served in the naval forces of
Orphée became flagship of the 13th Submarine Division — which also included Amazone, Antiope, and Sibylle — in September 1940, and continued to operate from Casablanca during 1940, 1941, and 1942.[1][4] In March 1942 she was reassigned to the new 18th Submarine Division at Casablanca.[1]
On 8 November 1942, Allied forces invaded
After the end of hostilities between French and Allied forces in French North Africa, Orphée joined the Free French Naval Forces. In mid-December 1942, she and the submarine Atalante began service as training ships.[1]
Orphée later returned to combat duties. On 8 August 1943, she made an unsuccessful attempt to land an agent at San Stefano near Anzio on the coast of Italy.[1] Operating from the submarine base at Oran in November 1943, she landed five agents on the coast of Spain at Barcelona on 20 November.[1] On 7 December 1943, she fired three torpedoes at the 348-ton Vichy French tug Faron and sank her near Toulon, France, at 43°02′N 006°01′E / 43.033°N 6.017°E.[1] It was the first time during World War II that a French submarine sank a ship in the Mediterranean Sea.[1] She visited Barcelona again on 28 December 1943, landing four agents and picking up one,[1] and her submarine division awarded her a citation of the order (French: citation à l'ordre) on 31 December 1943.[1]
On 25 January 1944, Orphée landed six agents at Barcelona and picked up three.[1] On 22 February 1944, she returned to Barcelona, where she landed seven more agents and picked up two.[1] On 1 March 1944, she landed four agents at Barcelona.[1] At 13:53 on 2 March 1944, she fired a torpedo at the Spanish steam cargo ship SS Virgen de Montserrat near Barcelona.[1]
In September 1944, the Free French Naval Forces made plans to place Orphée in special reserve.[1] In August 1945, when World War II came to an end with the cessation of hostilities between the Allies and Japan, she still was part of the Oran Submarine Group.[1]
Post-World War II
On 16 October 1945, Orphée collided with the Spanish fishing trawler José Carmen.[1] At 11:20 on 3 March 1946 she suffered an explosion while docked at Casablanca that killed two men and injured nine.[1] The explosion was attributed to poor ventilation of her batteries.[1] In April 1946, a request was made for recognition of members of Orphée′s crew who particularly distinguished themselves in responding to the accident.[1]
Final disposition
Orphée was condemned on 26 March 1946[1] and disarmed in April 1946.[2]
Honors and awards
- Croix de Guerre 1939–1945, awarded 23 August 1946
References
Citations
- ^ 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 Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin Orphée (in French) Accessed 20 October 2022
- ^ a b u-boote.fr ORPHÉE (in French) Accessed 22 October 2022
- ^ u-boote.fr EURYDICE (in French) Accessed 15 October 2022
- ^ a b c d e f g h uboote.fr ANTIOPE (in French) Accessed 21 April 2023
- ^ Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin Sibylle I (in French) Accessed 22 April 2023
Bibliography
- Moulin, Jean (2006). Les sous-marins français en images (in French). Rennes: ISBN 2-915379-40-8..
- Kévorkia, Georges (17 January 2006). Accidents des sous-marins français: 1945-1983 (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. ISBN 978-2-915379-37-2..
- "Un sous-marin français à l'honneur à Cherbourg". L'Ouest-Éclair (in French). 7 May 1940. p. 1..
- "L'exploit de l'Orphée". L'Ouest-Éclair (in French). 8 May 1940. p. 2..
- "Le retour victorieux du sous-marin Orphée". L'Illustration (in French). No. 5072. 18 May 1940..
- "1940: l'Orphée" (PDF). Cols bleus (in French). No. 61. 26 April 1946. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2022..
External links
- "Sous marin de 2ème classe ou 630 tonnes Classe Diane 2" (PDF). AGASM (in French). 27 May 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2020..
- Fanch 56 (23 January 2010). "ORPHÉE (SM)". Anciens Cols Bleus et Pompons Rouges. Forum de discussions pour les anciens de la Marine Nationale (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link). - "L'Exploit du sous-marin Orphée (1940)". Wikimanche (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2020..
- Pierre Larue. "COLLISION DU SOUS-MARIN ORPHÉE AVEC LE CHALUTIER JOSE CARMEN AU LARGE DE MAZAGAN". MAZAGAN - AAMR (Amicale des Anciens de Mazagan et sa Région) (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2020..
- "13-Sous-marins (17) sous-marins classe Argonaute (3)". CLAUSUCHRONIA Une uchronie un peu folle (in French). 1 September 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2020..