French submarine Poncelet
 Poncelet′s sister ship Ajax in 1930.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Poncelet |
| Namesake | Jean-Victor Poncelet (1788–1867), French engineer and mathematician |
| Operator | French Navy |
| Builder | |
| Laid down | 3 March 1927 |
| Launched | 10 April 1929 |
| Commissioned | 1 September 1932 |
| Homeport | Brest, France |
| Fate | Scuttled 7 November 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 |
|
Poncelet 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 served in the navy of Vichy France. She was scuttled during the Battle of Gabon in November 1940. Her commanding officer at the time of her loss,Capitaine de corvette (Corvette Captain) Bertrand de Saussine du Pont de Gault, is regarded as a national naval hero in France for sacrificing his life to scuttle her and ensure that she did not fall into enemy hands.
Characteristics
Poncelet was part of a fairly homogeneous series of 31 deep-sea patrol submarines also called "1,500-tonners" because of their displacement.[2] 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
Poncelet was authorized under the 1925 naval program.
Service history
1932–1939
On 28 October 1937, one of the sailors in Poncelet′s engineering department suffered an injury.[3]
World War II
At the start of World War II in September 1939, Poncelet was assigned to the 6th Submarine Division in the 4th Submarine Squadron in the 1st Squadron, based in Brest, France.[3][4] Her sister ships Ajax, Archimède, and Persée made up the rest of the division.[3][4]
On 20 September 1939, Poncelet and Persée departed Brest to patrol in the
German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning the
Vichy France
After France's surrender, Poncelet served in the naval forces of Vichy France. After the British Royal Navy attacked the French Navy squadron at Mers El Kébir, French Morocco, on 3 July 1940, Poncelet was assigned along with Casabianca and Sfax to defensive patrols off French Morocco, the three submarines combining to maintain a continuous offshore presence from 6 to 18 July 1940, when the submarines Amphitrite, Calypso, and Méduse relieved them.[3][9]
On 8 August 1940, the French Navy put a reorganization into effect which placed Poncelet and Persée in the 6th Submarine Division and transferred them to Dakar in Senegal.[3] On 2 September 1940, Poncelet got underway from Dakar with the aviso Bougainville and the banana boat Cap des Palmes, which was loaded with troops and supplies. Poncelet escorted Cap de Palmes as she approached Mayumba on the coast of Gabon — then a territory of French Equatorial Africa — to land the troops, but the landing was cancelled when the French discovered British forces at Mayumba.[3] Poncelet then proceeded to Port-Gentil in Gabon.[3][10] As of 26 October 1940, she remained at Port-Gentil.[3]
Battle of Gabon
On 7 November 1940,
Poncelet had put about a quarter
Loss
Milford was too slow to intercept Poncelet as long as Poncelet remained on the surface and undamaged, so Cunningham ordered Devonshire to launch a Walrus to attack Poncelet in the hope of either damaging her or forcing her to dive, which in either case would slow her and give Milford a chance to overtake her.[11][13] Devonshire launched the Walrus at 16:50 Alpha Time.[11] At 17:00 Alpha Time, Milford reported herself at 00°11′S 008°57′E / 0.183°S 8.950°E and that Poncelet was 6.5 nautical miles (12.0 km; 7.5 mi) distant, making 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and steering a course of 39 degrees.[11] The Walrus straddled Poncelet with two 100-pound (45 kg) depth charges, damaging her and forcing her to submerge.[11][13]
At 17:20 Alpha Time, Milford reported that Poncelet had altered course to the west and submerged and that she was engaging Poncelet.[11] Poncelet fired a torpedo at Milford which passed under Milford without exploding.[11][14] Poncelet attempted to fire a second torpedo, but it got stuck in its tube, gave off toxic smoke into the interior of the submarine, and created a leak.[11][14] Milford depth-charged Poncelet, damaging her and forcing her to the surface, then opened gunfire on her.[3] She submerged again, but was too badly damaged to withstand the dive, and her crew faced the danger of asphyxiation from the smoke emitted by the torpedo, so Poncelet′s commanding officer, Capitaine de corvette (Corvette Captain) Bertrand de Saussine du Pont de Gault, ordered the submarine to surface and her crew to abandon ship.[3][14] Soon after engaging Poncelet, Milford reported that Poncelet had surfaced at 00°04′S 008°56′E / 0.067°S 8.933°E.[11]
The British
Aftermath
Delhi reported at 19:22 Alpha Time on 7 November 1940 that she was in company with Milford and the British auxiliary naval trawler HMS Turcoman at 00°01′N 009°03′E / 0.017°N 9.050°E and that the prisoners-of-war from Poncelet would spend the night of 7–8 November aboard Milford.[11] Devonshire rendezvoused with Milford at 05:45 Alpha Time on 8 November 1940 to receive a full report on Milford′s engagement with Poncelet.[11] Milford transferred Poncelet′s survivors to Delhi at 07:45 Alpha Time on 9 November 1940 while a Walrus from Devonshire flew over the scene to provide antisubmarine cover.[11] At 14:00 Alpha Time on 9 November, Delhi detached from the task force to refuel at Lagos, Nigeria, which she reached at around 11:30 Alpha Time on 10 November 1940.[11] She disembarked the prisoners-of-war from Poncelet at Lagos.[11]
In France, de Saussine is regarded as a national naval hero.[17] His classmate and close friend, French Navy officer and French Resistance hero Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves, who fought in the Free French Naval Forces, was deeply affected by the death of de Saussine.[18][19] Chemnitz — the merchant ship Poncelet captured in September 1939 — was renamed Saint-Bertrand in honor of de Saussine after his death.[20]
The British eventually released Poncelet′s survivors, and they arrived at Dakar on 15 March 1943.[3] As of July 2022, the wreck of Poncelet remains undiscovered.
In media
The end of Poncelet is recounted by the writer Jean Noli in his 1971 book Le choix: les marins français au combat ("The Choice: French Sailors in Combat").
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.
- ^ Perchoc, Michel (2004). Pages D'histoire Navale. Éd. du Gerfaut.
- ^ 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 Sous-Marins Français Disparus & Accidents: Sous-Marin Poncelet (in French) Accessed 27 August 2022
- ^ a b Huan, p. 49.
- ^ Picard, pp. 33–35.
- ^ a b Auphan & Mordal, p. 35.
- ^ Huan, p. 62.
- ^ Picard, p. 39.
- ^ Huan, pp. 88–89.
- ^ Huan, p. 93.
- ^ 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 Allied Warships: FR Poncelet, uboat.net Accessed 9 July 2022
- ^ a b c Clayton, p. 118.
- ^ a b c "Commander David Corky Corkhill obituary". The Daily Telegraph. London. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Fiche biographique de Bertrand De Saussine" (in French). Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ Jennings, p. 44.
- ^ Picard, p. 42.
- ^ Clayton, pp. 118–119.
- ^ Ntoma Mengome, p. 52.
- ^ Montety, p. 204.
- ^ Picard, pp.33–34.
Bibliography
- Clayton, Anthony (2014). Three Republics, One Navy: A Naval History of France 1870–1999. Solihull, England: Helion & Company Limited. ISBN 978-1-911096-74-0.
- 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.
- Jennings, Eric T. (2015). French Africa in World War II. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107048485.
- Montety, Étienne de (2001). Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves: Un héros français (in French). Paris: Perrin. ISBN 978-2-262-01576-3.
- Ntoma Mengome, Barthélémy (2013). La bataille de Libreville: De Gaulle contre Pétain : 50 morts (in French). Paris: L'Harmattan. p. 88. ISBN 978-2-343-01045-8..
- Picard, Claude (2006). Les Sous-marins de 1 500 tonnes (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. ISBN 2-915379-55-6.