Gymnote in 1889. |
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Career (France) | |
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Namesake: | Gymnotus |
Launched: | 24 September 1888 |
Decommissioned: | 1908 |
Fate: | Scrapped |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Submarine |
Displacement: | 30 tonnes (33 tons) |
Length: | 17.8 m (58.4 ft) |
Propulsion: | Electric engine 41 kW (55 hp) |
Speed: |
7.3 kn (13.5 km/h, 8.4 mph) surfaced |
Range: |
65 nmi (120 km, 75 mi) @ 5.0 kn (9.3 km/h, 5.8 mph) surfaced |
Complement: | 5 men |
The Gymnote was one of the world's first all-electric submarines.
Launched on 24 September 1888, she was developed in France following early experiments by Dupuy de Lôme, and, after his death, by Gustave Zédé (1825-1891) and Arthur Krebs, who completed the project. For the Gymnote, Artur Krebs developed the electric engine, the first naval periscope and the first naval electric gyrocompass. The name "Gymnote" is French for Gymnotidae.
The submarine was built with a steel single hull, a detachable lead keel, and three hydroplanes on each side. She made over 2,000 dives, using 204 cell batteries. She was armed with two 355 mm torpedoes.
Gymnote was partly inspired by the earlier development of the submarine Plongeur, the world's first mechanically-powered submarine.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:French_submarine_Gymnote French submarine Gymnote] at Wikimedia Commons
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