Aréthuse class submarine
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 The conning tower of Argonaute |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |  Marine Nationale |
| Succeeded by: | Daphné |
| In service: | 1958 - 1981 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Lost: | Aréthuse (1982, as practice target) Amazone (1985, as practice target) |
| Preserved: | Argonaute |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 543 tons surfaced, 669 tons submerged |
| Length: | 49.6 m |
| Beam: | 5.8 m |
| Draft: | 4 m |
| Propulsion: | 1 shaft, 2 × 12 cylinder diesel engines (1060 hp), 1 electric motor (1300 hp) |
| Speed: | 12.5 knots surfaced 16 knots submerged |
| Complement: | 39 |
| Armament: | 4 × 550 mm torpedo tubes (8 torpedoes carried) |
The Aréthuse class were submarines built for the French Navy in the 1950's. They were designed as hunter killer submarines for anti-submarine warfare and were referred to as Sous-marins de Chasse by the Marine Nationale. These submarines had advanced sensors and were very quiet. They were influenced by the World War II German Type XXIII U-boat. They were always based in the Mediterranean.
The Daphné class submarines are an enlarged version built for the French, Pakistani, Portuguese, Spanish and South African Navies
[edit] Ships
| Name | Launched | Completed | Decommissioned |
|---|---|---|---|
| S635 Arethuse | 9 November 1957, | 23 October 1958 | April 1979 |
| S636 Argonaute | 29 June 1957 | 11 February 1959 | 1982 preserved as a museum in the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie Paris |
| S639 Amazone | 3 April 1958 | 1 July 1959 | July 1980 |
| S640 Ariane | 12 September 1958, | 16 March 1960 | March 1981 |
All boats built by the Arsenal de Cherbourg
