French submarine Plongeur

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The French submarine Plongeur, 1863.
History
France
OperatorFrench Navy
Ordered1859
BuilderArsenal de
Rochefort
Laid down1 June 1860
Launched16 April 1863
Stricken2 February 1872
General characteristics
Displacement381 t (420 tons) in displacement
Length45 m (146 ft)[1]
Beam3.7 m (12 ft)
PropulsionCompressed air engine with 153 m3 (5,403 ft3) of compressed air at 12.5 
psi
).
Speed4 kn (7.2 km/h)
Range5 nmi (9 km)
Test depth10 metres
Complement12
ArmamentSpar torpedo

Plongeur (French for "Diver") was a French submarine launched on 16 April 1863. She was the first submarine in the world to be propelled by mechanized (rather than human) power.

naval constructor Charles Brun began working on the design in 1859 at Rochefort
.

Design

Model of Plongeur at the Deutsches Museum, Munich, showing the lifeboat detached
Drawings for Plongeur

In 1859 the Board of Construction (Conseil des travaux) called naval engineers for designs for a submarine and reviewed three, choosing that submitted by Siméon Bourgeois (later Admiral) and Charles Brun, naming the project Plongeur[2] with the code name Q00.

The submarine used a

psi), taking up a huge amount of space (153 m³/5,403 ft³), and requiring the submarine to be of unprecedented size. The engine had a power of 60 kW (80 hp), and could propel the submarine for 5 nmi (9 km), at a speed of 4 kn
(7.2 km/h).

Compressed air was also used to empty its

Ballast was 212 t (234 tons
), including a security ballast of 34 t (37 tons).

The submarine was armed with a ram to break holes in the hull of enemy ships, and an electrically fired spar torpedo, fixed at the end of a pole,[4] though later Admiral Bourgeois (who was, after 1871, chairman of the Commission on Submarine Defenses) opposed the use of torpedoes as the primary weapon in commerce warfare.[5]

The submarine was 43 m (140 ft) long and 381 t (420 tons) in displacement.

A support ship, the Cachalot, followed her in order to resupply the compressed air necessary to her propulsion.

A small lifeboat (8 × 1.7 m; 26 × 5.6 ft) was provided for the escape of the 12-man complement.

Internal construction of Le Plongeur.

Operational history

Submarine Plongeur under tow by La Vigie.

The submarine was commanded by

Lieutenant de Vaisseau Marie-Joseph-Camille Doré
.

On 6 October 1863, Plongeur made her first trials by sailing down the Charente River, to the harbour of the Cabane Carrée.

On 2 November 1863, Plongeur was towed to Port-des-Barques, where her first underwater trials were planned. Because of poor weather conditions, the submarine was eventually towed to La Pallice and then to the harbour (Bassin à flot) of La Rochelle

On 14 February 1864, during trials in the Bassin à flot, the engine raced due to an excessive admission of compressed air, and the submarine bumped into the quay. Trials were stopped.

On 18 February 1864, Plongeur was towed to La Pallice and dived to 9 m (30 ft).

Gymnote and Gustave Zédé
.

A model of Plongeur was displayed at the 1867

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.[9]

After various experiments, she was stricken by the French Navy on 2 February 1872.

Conversion

Submarine Plongeur in use as a water tanker in the early 20th century.

The submarine was used as a water tanker from 1 January 1873. She was assigned to the harbour of Rochefort. In 1927, upon the closure of

Mediterranean at Toulon. She was decommissioned on 25 December 1935, and sold on 26 May 1937.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Farnham Bishop. The Story of the Submarine. p. 57.
  2. ^ Le Masson, H. (1969) Du Nautilus (1800) au Redoubtable (Histoire critique du sous-marin dans la marine française), Paris pp.55–59
  3. ^ Kohnen, W. (2009). Human exploration of the deep seas: fifty years and the inspiration continues. Marine Technology Society Journal, 43(5), 42-62.
  4. ^ Swinfield, J. (2014). Sea Devils: Pioneer Submariners. The History Press.
  5. ^ Røksund, A. (2007). The jeune ecole: the strategy of the weak. Brill.
  6. ^ Payen, J. (1989). De l'anticipation à l'innovation. Jules Verne et le problème de la locomotion mécanique.
  7. ^ Compère, D. (2006). Jules Verne: bilan d'un anniversaire. Romantisme, (1), 87-97.
  8. ^ Seelhorst, Mary (2003) 'Jules Verne. (PM People)'. In Popular Mechanics. 180.7 (July 2003): p36. Hearst Communications.
  9. Rochefort
  10. OCLC 165892922
    .

Bibliography

External links

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