Brumaire-class submarine
.jpg) Curie (Q 87) later SM U-14 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Brumaire class |
| Operators: |
 French Navy |
| Built: | 1911–1913 |
| In commission: | 1911–1930 |
| Completed: | 16 |
| Lost: | 3 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | Submarine |
| Displacement: |
397 t (391 long tons), surfaced 551 t (542 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 170 ft 11 in (52.10 m) |
| Beam: | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m), surfaced |
| Propulsion: |
2 × propeller shafts 2 × license-built MAN 6-cylinder diesel engines, surfaced, 840 bhp (630 kW) total 2 × electric motors, submerged, 660 shp (490 kW) total |
| Speed: |
13 knots (15 mph; 24 km/h), surfaced 8.8 knots (10.1 mph; 16.3 km/h), submerged |
| Range: |
1,700 nmi (3,100 km) @ 10 knots (19 km/h), surfaced 84 nmi (156 km) @ 5 knots (9.3 km/h), submerged |
| Complement: | 29 |
| Armament: | 1 × 17.7 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tube, up to 8 torpedoes |
The Brumaire class submarines were built for the French Navy prior to World War I. There were sixteen vessels in this class,[1] of the Laubeuf type.[2]
All saw action during the First World War, with three boats lost.
Naming
The French Navy built 34 Laubeuf-type submarines between 1906 and 1911. These are usually described as two classes, of which the Brumaire class was one, the other being the Pluviôse class.[1] (Another source[2] treats the vessels as one group, divided by the yards that built them) The boats had two naming schemes; the earlier vessels were named after the months of the French Revolutionary calendar, and the later ones after French scientists. However apart from the name ship of the class, only two were named after months; the remaining thirteen boats of the Brumaire class were named for scientists.
Design
The Brumaire class were Laubeuf type submarines, following the Laubeuf standard design of double hull and dual propulsion systems (as were the Pluviôse class). The Brumaire boats had electric motors for underwater propulsion, and are usually listed as having diesel engines for surface propulsion, though in practice this was mixed. While most had diesels several of the earlier boats had steam engines. These had been preferred by Laubeuf in the early stages, though later Laubeuf type submarines, such as the Circé class, predecessors to the Pluviôse and Brumaire classes, had used diesel engines, and some of the later Pluviôse boats had diesels.
Construction
The Brumaire class were ordered in the 1906 programme and the first vessels were laid down the same year. However construction proceeded more slowly than the Pluviôse boats, and the first of the class, Brumaire was not launched until four years later, priority being given to the Pluviôse boats. The boats were built at three of the French Navy’s dockyards, at the Arsenals of Cherbourg, Rochefort and Toulon. The first of the class, Brumaire, was launched in April 1911, and the last, Franklin in March 1913.[1]
Armament
The Brumaire class submarines were armed with 17.7 inch torpedoes, of which eight were carried. They had one 17.7 inch torpedo tube mounted in the bow, with one torpedo loaded and one carried as a reload, and six carried externally. Of these four were in Drzewiecki drop-collars and two in external cradles alongside the conning tower.[1]
Service history
The Brumaire class were acknowledged to be good sea boats and saw action throughout the First World War on patrol and close blockade duty. Of the sixteen built, four were lost in action. Two vessels (Joule and Bernouilli) were mined; another (Foucault) was sunk by aircraft, the first incidence of such a loss. the fourth, Curie was lost attempting to penetrate the Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola. She was later raised by the Austrians and put into service by them, but was returned after the Austrian surrender.
Ships
| Name | Pennant number | Launched | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brumaire | (Q60) | 29 April 1911 | scrapped in 1930 |
| Frimaire | (Q62) | 26 August 1911 | scrapped in 1923 |
| Nivôse | (Q63) | 6 January 1912 | scrapped in 1921 |
| Foucault | (Q70) | 15 June 1912 | bombed and sunk by Austrian aircraft off Cattaro on 15 September 1915 |
| Euler | (Q71) | 12 October 1912 | scrapped in the 1920s |
| Franklin | (Q72) | 22 March 1913 | scrapped in 1922 |
| Faraday | (Q78) | 27 June 1911 | scrapped in 1921 |
| Volta | (Q79) | 23 September 1911 | scrapped in October 1922 |
| Newton | (Q80) | 20 May 1912 | scrapped in December 1925 |
| Montgolfier | (Q81) | 18 April 1912 | scrapped in 1921 |
| Bernouilli (sic)[Note 1] | (Q83) | 1 June 1911 | on 4 April 1916, broke into the port Cattaro and blew the stern off Austrian destroyer Csepel. Was mined and sunk on 13 February 1918 |
| Joule | (Q84) | 7 September 1911 | sunk by mines in the Dardanelles during Gallipoli Campaign on 1 May 1915 |
| Coulomb | (Q85) | 13 June 1912 | scrapped in 1919 |
| Arago | (Q86) | 29 June 1912 | scrapped in 1921 |
| Curie | (Q87) | 18 July 1912 | sunk on 20 December 1914 when attempting to infiltrate the Austro-Hungarian Navy's main base at Pola. Salvaged and taken into Austro-Hungarian Navy service as the U-14, it was returned to France post-war and scrapped in 1923 |
| Le Verrier | (Q88) | 31 October 1912 | scrapped in 1925 |
Notes
- ↑ This submarine, Bernouilli, is named for members of the Bernoulli family, but according to the sources here does not use the same spelling
References
Bibliography
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866.
- Moore, John (1919 : reprinted 2003). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London, England: Jane's Publishing Company. ISBN 1-85170-378-0.
External links
- French Submarines: 1863 - Now
- Sous-marins Français 1863 - (French)
- u-boat-laboratorium.com article on Curie (Q87)
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