French submarine Protée (1930)
Ajax, sister ship of Protée
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History | |
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Name | Protée |
Namesake | Proteus, an early sea-god or god of rivers in Greek mythology |
Laid down | 4 October 1928 |
Launched | 31 July 1930 |
Commissioned | 1 November 1932 |
Fate | Sunk on 20 December 1943 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Redoutable-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 92.30 m (302.8 ft) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 80 metres |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Protée (Q155) was a Redoutable-class submarine of the French Navy. The class is also known as the "1500-ton class" and were termed in French French: « de grande patrouille».
History
Development
Protée was one of 31 Redoutable-class submarines, also designated as the 1500 ton boats because of their displacement. The class entered service between 1931 and 1939.
92.3 m (302 ft 10 in) long, with a beam of 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) and a draught of 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in), she could dive up to 80 m (260 ft). Redoutable-class submarines had a surfaced displacement of 1,572 tonnes (1,547 long tons) and a submerged displacement of 2,082 tonnes (2,049 long tons). Propulsion while surfaced was provided by two 6,000 hp (4,474 kW) diesel motors, with a maximum speed of 18.6 knots (34.4 km/h; 21.4 mph). The submarines' electrical propulsion allowed them to attain speeds of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) while submerged. Designated as "grand cruise submarines" (French: « sous-marins de grande croisière »), their surfaced range was 10,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 10 knots (20 km/h), and 14,000 nautical miles (30,000 km) at 7 knots (10 km/h), with a submerged range of 100 nautical miles (0 km) at 5 knots (10 km/h).
Laid down on 4 October 1928, Protée was launched on 31 July 1930 and commissioned on 1 November 1932.
Second World War
At the beginning of the
Force X continued in action with the Allies until June 1943, when after several months of negotiations with the French Forces of Africa, to form the French Forces of the Liberation.[3] Protée left Alexandria on 18 June to sail to Oran, departing Oran during November. On 22 November, during the boat's first mission, she torpedoed a German cargo ship off Agay, but failed to sink her.[6]
On 18 December 1943 Protée, under the command of Capitaine de corvette Georges Millé, sailed to patrol off
Protée disappeared on 20 December 1943 with the loss of all hands, including three Royal Navy liaison personnel.[9] The later submarine Laubie was named after the Protée's chief engineer, Louis Laubie.
Discovery of the wreck
The wreck was discovered on 6 April 1995 at 43°04′16″N 5°32′14″E / 43.071°N 5.5372°E by the COMEX vessel Rémora 2000.[10] Analyses of the damage indicated that she was probably lost after hitting a mine. The wreck was declared a war memorial by the Navy.
Citations
- ^ Huan 2004, p. 49
- ^ Huan 2004, p. 74
- ^ a b Picard 2006, p. 80
- ^ Huan 2004, p. 89
- ^ "Les navires internés". prisonniers de guerre (in French). 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
- ^ Huan 2004, p. 157
- ^ Picard 2006, pp. 80–81
- ^ Huan 2004, p. 162
- ^ "Dimanche 18 décembre 2005, cérémonie en hommage au Sous-Marin PROTEE". Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ Pierre (2008-02-03). "Le Protée" (in French). Retrieved 2009-08-14.
References
- Huan, Claude (2004). Les Sous-marins français 1918–1945. Rennes: Marines Éditions.
- Picard, Claude (2006). Les Sous-marins de 1500 tonnes. Rennes: Marines Éditions.
External links
- T. L. Mercier. "Q 155 / Le Protée 2" (in French). Sous-marins Français. Retrieved 2009-08-05.