French submarine Ouessant (Q180)
History | |
---|---|
France | |
Name | Ouessant |
Namesake | Ushant, an island in the English Channel |
Operator | French Navy |
Builder | |
Laid down | 30 January or 4 April 1932 |
Launched | 30 November 1936 |
Commissioned | 1 February 1937 |
Fate | Scuttled 18 June 1940 |
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 |
|
Ouessant was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 series commissioned in 1937. She participated in World War II on the side of the Allies until she was scuttled in 1940.
Characteristics
Ouessant 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
Based on the experiences of other French submarines, which had made endurance cruises to places such as Argentina, Douala in French Cameroon, and French Indochina in Southeast Asia, an air refrigeration system was installed aboard Ouessant and her sister ship Agosta to test its utility in improving the habitability of French submarines in tropical climates.[3] In 1938, Ouessant′s ballast tanks were galvanized.[3]
On 4 May 1938, Ouessant visited Dakar in Senegal.[3]
World War II
At the start of World War II on 1 September 1939, Ouessant was assigned to the 8th Submarine Division of the 4th Submarine Squadron, an element of the 1st Squadron of the Forces de haute mer (High Seas Force), based at Brest, France. Her sister ships Agosta, Bévéziers, and Sidi Ferruch made up the rest of the division.[4] That day, Ouessant, Agosta, and their sister ships Achille and Casabianca got underway from Brest to investigate the waters around Vigo, Spain, and report on the presence of German ships and submarines there.[3] France declared war on 3 September 1939, and on 4 September the mission was cancelled and the submarines returned to Brest.[3]
On 14 September 1939, Ouessant, Agosta, Achille, Casabianca, and their sister ships Pasteur and Sfax received orders to establish a permanent patrol off Vigo, where German merchant ships — which the Allies suspected of serving as supply ships for German U-boats — had taken refuge upon the outbreak of war.[3][5] They continued the patrols off Vigo until the end of October 1939.[3]
Ouessant and the rest of the 8th Submarine Division next left European waters and proceeded to Fort-de-France on Martinique in the French West Indies to conduct patrols in the vicinity of Trinidad the British had requested.[3][6] Ouessant patrolled primarily in the Columbus Channel, also known as the Serpent's Mouth, between Trinidad and Venezuela.[3]
On 12 January 1940, Ouessant departed Fort-de-France in company with Agosta bound for Brest.
Ouessant was still undergoing overhaul when German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning the
The Germans refloated Ouessant in 1942 to clear her berth and
Post-World War II
Ouessant was refloated again in 1948.[3] She subsequently served as a wreck lifter along with Agosta.[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 Allied Warships: FR Ouessant, uboat.net Accessed 18 August 2022
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o u-boote.fr OUESSANT (in French) Accessed 20 August 2022
- ^ Huan, p. 49.
- ^ Huan, pp. 60–61.
- ^ Huan.
- ^ Huan, p. 79.
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.