French submarine Pascal
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History | |
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Name | Pascal |
Namesake | philosopher, writer, and theologian |
Operator | French Navy |
Ordered | 1925 |
Builder | |
Laid down | 8 June 1926 |
Launched | 19 July 1928 |
Commissioned | 10 September 1931 |
Homeport | Brest, France |
Fate |
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Acquired | On or after 27 November 1942 |
Fate |
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Acquired | 9 September 1943 |
Fate | Sunk 11 March 1944 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Redoutable-class submarine |
Displacement |
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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 |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 80 m (262 ft) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Pascal was a
Characteristics
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Casabianca_profile_view.svg/330px-Casabianca_profile_view.svg.png)
Pascal 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
Authorized in the 1925 naval program,
Service history
1931–1939
From 1930, the French Navy equipped several of its submarines — including Pascal — with
World War II
At the start of World War II in September 1939, Pascal was assigned to the 4th Submarine Division in the 1st Squadron, home-ported at Brest.[4][2] Her sister ships Argo, Henri Poincaré, and Le Centaure made up the rest of the division.[2][4]
The French assigned the responsibility for the defense of the coast of
In November[2] and December[6] 1939, Pascal and Henri Poincaré patrolled in the Atlantic Ocean south of the Azores in search of German U-boats and their supply ships.[2][6] On either 17 November[2] or 17 December[6] 1939, according to different sources, Pascal's crew boarded the Italian ocean liner Saturnia to check her passengers — among whom were eight Germans, seven of them German Jews — before allowing her to proceed.[2][6] From 21 to 25 November 1939, the two submarines searched for the German cargo ship Rekum, based on an erroneous report that she had put to sea from Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.[2]
At 07:00 on 16 January 1940, Pascal fired a warning shot at a merchant ship her crew suspected of being a blockade runner.[2] After the ship stopped, Pascal′s crew determined that she was the British steam cargo ship SS Highland Princess and released her to continue her voyage.[2]
In April 1940 the French Navy established the new 4th Flotilla at Bizerte in Tunisia and assigned Pascal, Argo, Henri Poincaré, and Le Centaure to it along with their sister ships Fresnel, Le Conquérant, Le Glorieux, L'Espoir, Le Héros, Le Tonnant, Monge, Pégase, and Vengeur.[2] Accordingly, Pascal began to operate from Bizerte.[2]
German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning the
Vichy France
After France's surrender, Pascal served in the naval forces of Vichy France, initially remained assigned to the 4th Submarine Division[2] at Bizerte.[2] By 1 August 1940, she had been reassigned along with Henri Poincaré to the 5th Submarine Division at Bizerte.[2][8]
As of 1 January 1942, Pascal was assigned to the 5th Submarine Division at Casablanca in French Morocco along with Fresnel, Henri Poincaré, and their sister ship Actéon.[2] In early 1942, she departed French Morocco to undergo a major overhaul at La Ciotat, France.[2] The overhaul took eight months,[2] during which time she was placed under guard in a disarmed and unfueled state in accordance with the terms of the Armistice of 22 June 1940.[2] After Allied forces landed in French North Africa on 8 November 1942 in Operation Torch, she was authorized to rearm for the defense of Toulon, France, against Allied attack.[2] Her refit was completed on 16 November 1942.[2]
Moored at Berth 9 at the Darse Nord du Mourillon at Toulon with her diesel engines still disassembled,[2] Pascal was not able get underway when Germany and Italy occupied the Free Zone (French: Zone libre) of Vichy France on 27 November 1942, and she was among the French vessels scuttled at Toulon to prevent their seizure by Germany when German forces entered Toulon that day.[2][3][9] She sank before German troops could reach her and attempt to prevent her scuttling.[2][10]
Italy and Germany
The Germans seized Pascal and handed her over to the Italians, who refloated her on either 20 January 1943[2] or 5 June 1943,[3] according to different sources. The Germans seized her when Italy surrendered to the Allies and switched to the Allied side in accordance with the terms of the Armistice of Cassibile on 9 September 1943. The Germans declared her unusable. Allied aircraft sank her at Toulon on 11 March 1944.[2][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 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 u-boote.fr PASCAL (in French) Accessed 4 September 2022
- ^ a b c d e f Allied Warships: FR Pascal, uboat.net Accessed 14 July 2022
- ^ a b Huan, p. 49.
- ^ Picard, p. 35.
- ^ a b c d Huan, p. 62.
- ^ a b Picard, p. 61.
- ^ Huan, p. 90.
- ^ Huan, pp. 138–141.
- ^ u-boote.fr HENRI POINCARÉ (in French) Accessed 3 September 2022
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.