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Redoutable-class submarine (1928)

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For other ships with the same name, see Redoutable class submarine.
Class overview
NameRedoutable
Operators French Navy
Subclasseslist error: <br /> list (help)
Redoutable

Espoir

Agosta
Completed31
General characteristics
TypeSubmarine
Displacementlist error: <br /> list (help)
1500 tonnes (surfaced)
2000 tonnes (submerged)
Length92.30 metres
Beam8.2 metres
Draught4.9 metres
Propulsionlist error: <br /> list (help)
2 diesels, of 4,300 hp
2 electric engines of 1,200 hp
Speedlist error: <br /> list (help)
17 knots (surfaced)
10 knots (submerged)
Rangelist error: <br /> list (help)
14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) at 7 knots (13 km/h),

10,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 10 knots (20 km/h)
4,000 nautical miles (7,000 km) at 17 knots (31 km/h)

90 nautical miles (170 km) at 7 knots (submerged)
Test depth80 meters
Complementlist error: <br /> list (help)
5 officers (6 in operations)
79 men
Armamentlist error: <br /> list (help)
9 x 550 mm torpedo tubes

2 x 400 mm torpedo tubes
1 x 100 mm gun

2 x 13.2 mm machine gun

The Redoutable class submarines were ocean-going submarines of the French Navy during the Second World War. They were officially called "Long patrol submarines" (Fr:Sous-marins de grande patrouille), or "Type 1 submarines".[1][2] They were also referred to as the 1500 Series, and regarded as being in three sub-classes[3][4] (Though some French sources recognize only two[5]) The Redoubtable class were generally regarded as successful, being reliable and seaworthy, with a good range and armament. A total of 31 were built, the largest class of submarines built by the French Navy, and comprising one-third of its total submarine force.

Development

The Redoutable class were built for service in the Atlantic, operating as scouts, or as commerce raiders, and for colonial service. They were built to conform to the interwar naval treaties arising from the 1922 Washington and 1930 London conferences, which placed restrictions on the number and size of warships of various types that nations could build.[6] The Redoutable class were designed and built as successors to the Requin class, France's first post-war Type 1 design. Orders were placed in 1924 for the first two boats, Redoutable and Vengeur, followed by orders for seven more (1925), then five (1926), and a further five (1927). In 1929 a further order was placed for six boats of an improved design with more powerful engines, followed in 1930 by another six, again with improved engines and speed.[7]

General characteristics

The 1500s were built to a 92 metre double-hulled design, with an emphasis on surface speed and a long range. They had a surface displacement just above 1500 tons, the upper limit by treaty. They were rated for a dive depth of 80 metres, though in service depths of 120 metres were recorded. [8] Diving time was 30 to 40 seconds, and their underwater range was 100 miles at 5 knots. Surface range was 10,000 miles at 10 knots, with a maximum of 19 to 20 knots, and a maximum submerged speed of 10 knots. Their armament was eleven torpedo tubes (4 forward, 3 midships, and 3-4 aft) with an outfit of 13 torpedoes. As with other French submarines of this period, the 1500s had torpedo tubes fitted externally in trainable mounts; in this case they were midships and astern. The stern mount also had tubes of two different sizes, for different targets. They had a single 3.9 inch/100mm gun, and one to two 13.2mm machine guns. and were manned by crews of 61 men.[9][10]

One drawback suffered by these vessels was their engines, which, though reliable, were noisy, both diesel and electric, a disadvantage when operating with stealth. They were also criticized for their habitability, with inadequate ventilation and storage for foodstuffs.

In 1943 the five boats still in service were refitted in he USA. A second anti-aircraft gun was added, on a platform ahead of the conning tower, and the torpedo armament was rationalized; the two 400mm tubes were removed from the stern mount and replaced by a single 550 mm tube.[11]

Arrangement plan of a French 1 500 tons class submarine.

Sub-classes

Built over ten years by a number of different shipyards, the 1500's differed in details of design and construction. The first two (Redoutable and Vengeur) were equipped with a generator for recharging the batteries for the electric motors; the following vessels all dispensed with this, recharging directly from the diesel engines. Nine vessels (Achille, Ajax, Archimede, Argo;, Le Centaure, Pasteur, Persee, Poncelet and Promethee), were equipped with Schneider diesels, the remainder with engines by Sulzer. There was also a progressive increase in motive power; the boats of the 1922 programme, (Redoutable and Vengeur) had engines rated at 4000 rpm (cite needed) those of the 1925, 1926 and 1927 programmes 6,000 hp. In the 1929 programme this was increased to 7,200 hp, and in the 1931 boats 8,600hp. This in turn led to a progressive improvement in surface speed; the first series made 17knots on the surface, the 1929 boats 19kn and the 1930 boats 20 knot.

These differences form the basis of the class division into sub-classes. A number of sources[12][13][14] make a three part division; the boats of the 1922, 1925, 1926 and 1927 programmes in the first series; those of the 1929 programme the second sub-class, or series, and the 1930 boats the third. Those sources that make a two class division regard Redoutable and Vengeur as one sub-class, (referred to as project M5) and the remaining 29 (project M6) as the other.[15][16]

War service

The Redoutable class served with the Marine Nationale and with Vichy and Free French forces during World War II in a full range of front-line duties and missions. Of the 29 boats that served in World War II (two were lost in the pre-war period), 24 were lost.

At the outbreak of war there were 29 vessels of the 1500 class; two had been lost accidentally in the 1930’s. At the Fall of France four boats undergoing repair at Brest (Pasteur, Achille, Agosta and Ouessant) were scuttled; another (Protee) was interned at Alexandria. The remaining 1500’s were with the French fleet, or at various overseas stations.

Five were lost in the months after the armistice; Three (Persee, Ajax and Poncelet) were sunk in the attack on Dakar, another (Sfax) was sunk in error by the German U-37, and Pegasee was decommissioned at Saigon in French Indochina.

In May 1942 three more (Bevezier, L'Heros and Monge) were sunk when Madagascar came under attack; in November another three (Acteon, Le Conquerant and Sidi Ferruch) were sunk resisting the Allied invasion of North Africa and a fourth (Le Tonnant) was scuttled. At the end of November, when the Germans occupied Vichy France, seven boats were scuttled at Toulon. The remaining five (Argo, Archimede, Le Centaure, Le Glorieux and Casabianca) still in French hands when she rejoined the Allies all survived until the end of the war, being decommissioned in 1952.[17][18]

Ships in class

First series

name pennant number ordered builder commissioned fate
Redoutable Q136 1924 Arsenal de Cherbourg 24.2.28 scuttled, Toulon: raised, destroyed in air raid 1944
Vengeur Q137 1924 Arsenal de Cherbourg 1.9.28 scuttled, Toulon, 27.11.42
Archimède Q142 1925 CNF, Caen 6.9.30 survived the war; BU 1952
Fresnel Q143 1925 AC St Nazaire-Penhoet 8.6.29 scuttled, Toulon: raised, destroyed in air raid 1944
Henri Poincaré Q140 1925 Arsenal de Lorient 10.4.29 scuttled, 9.9.43
Monge Q144 1925 FC Mediterranee, La Seyne 25.6.29 sunk, 8.5.42
Pascal Q138 1925 Arsenal de Brest 19.7.28 scuttled, Toulon: raised, destroyed in air raid 1944
Pasteur Q139 1925 Arsenal de Brest 19.7.28 scuttled, Brest, 18.6.40
Poncelet Q141 1925 Arsenal de Lorient 10.4.29 scuttled, 18.11.40
Achille Q147 1926 Arsenal de Brest 28.5.30 scuttled, Brest, 18.6.40
Ajax Q148 1926 Arsenal de Brest 28.5.30 sunk, 24.9.40
Actéon Q149 1926 AC Loire, Nantes 10.4.29 sunk, 8.11.42
Achéron Q150 1926 AC Loire, Nantes 6.8.29 scuttled, Toulon, 27.11.42: raised, destroyed in air raid 1943
Argo Q151 1926 AC Dubigeon, Nantes 11.4.29 survived the war, BU 1946
Protée Q155 1927 FC Med. La Seyne 31.7.30 sunk 29.12.43 by Axis patrol boats
Pégase Q156 1927 AC Loire, Nantes 28.7.30 de-commissioned, Saigon, 1941 /BU 1950
Persée Q154 1927 CNF 23.5.31 sunk, 23.9.40
Phénix Q157 1927 AC Dubigeon 12.4.30 accidental loss. 15.6.39
Prométhée Q153 1927 Arsenal de Cherbourg 1930 accidental loss, 8.7.32

Second series

name pennant number ordered builder commissioned fate
L'Espoir Q167 1929 Arsenal de Cherbourg 18.7.31 scuttled, Toulon, 27.11.42
Le Glorieux Q168 1929 AC St Nazaire-Penhoet 29.11.31 survived the war, BU 1952
Le Centaure Q169 1929 Arsenal de Brest 14.10.32 survived the war, BU 1952
Le Héros Q170 1929 Arsenal de Brest 14.10.32 sunk, 7.5.42
Le Conquérant Q171 1929 AC Loire, Nantes 26.6.34 sunk, 13.11.42
Le Tonnant Q172 1929 FC Mediterranee, La Seyne 15.12.34 scuttled, Cadiz, 15.11.42

Third series

name pennant number ordered builder launched fate
Agosta Q178 !930 Arsenal de Cherbourg 30.4.34 scuttled, Brest, 18.6.40
Sfax Q182 !930 ACL, Nantes 6.12.34 torpedoed by U-37, 19.12.40
Casabianca Q183 !930 ACL Nantes 2.2.35 survived the war. BU 1952
Bévéziers Q179 !930 Arsenal de Cherbourg 14.10.35 sunk, 5.5.42
Ouessant Q140 !930 Arsenal de Cherbourg 30.11.36 scuttled, Brest, 18.6.40
Sidi Ferruch Q181 !930 Arsenal de Cherbourg 9.7.37 sunk, 11.11.42

Notes

  1. ^ Conway p274
  2. ^ Type 1's were oceanic submarines; type 2's were coastal submarines; and type 3's were mine layers
  3. ^ Conway p273
  4. ^ Bagnasco p38
  5. ^ Huan p
  6. ^ Bagnasco p38
  7. ^ Bagnasco p38
  8. ^ Aboukir p
  9. ^ Bagnasco p46
  10. ^ Conway p273
  11. ^ Bagnasco p46
  12. ^ Bagnasco p46
  13. ^ Conway p273
  14. ^ Miller p
  15. ^ Huan p
  16. ^ Picard p
  17. ^ Bagnasco p46
  18. ^ conway p274

References

  • Bagnasco, E :Submarines of World War Two (1977) ISBN 0-85368-331-X
  • Conway : Conways All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1922-1946 (1980) ISBN 0-85177-146-7
  • Claude Huan, Les Sous-marins français 1918-1945, Rennes, Marines Éditions, 2004, 240 p.
  • Claude Picard, Les Sous-marins de 1 500 tonnes, Rennes, Marines Editions, 2006, 119 p.
  • Miller, D : Submarines of the World (1991) ISBN 0-86101-562-2
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