Circé-class submarine
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Circé-class |
| Operators: |
 French Navy |
| Built: | 1925–1927 |
| In commission: | 1927–1940 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Lost: | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Submarine |
| Displacement: | 615 tonnes (605 long tons) surfaced 776 tonnes (764 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 64 m (210 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × diesel engines, 1,200 bhp (895 kW) 2 × electric motors, 1,000 shp (746 kW) 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 3,500 mi (5,600 km) at 7.5 kn (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) |
| Complement: | 41 |
| Armament: | 7 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 76 mm (3 in) deck gun 2 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns |
The Circé class submarines were a sub-class of the 600 Series built for the French Navy prior to World War II. There were four vessels in the class, built to a Schneider-Laubeuf design. They were ordered in 1925 and completed by 1927.[1][2]
The four boats of the Circé class saw action during the Second World War, from September 1939 until the French armistice in June 1940.
General characteristics
The Circé class had a displacement of 615 tons surfaced and 776 tons submerged. They had an endurance of 3,500 miles at 7.5 knots, with a maximum surface speed of 14 knots, and a submerged speed of 7.5 knots. Their armament was seven torpedo tubes (3 forward, 2 midships, and 2 aft) with an outfit of 13 torpedoes. As with all French submarines of this period, the midships torpedo tubes were fitted externally in trainable mounts. They had a single 3 inch/76mm and two 8mm machine guns, and were manned by crews of 41 men.
Ships
- Circé was at Bizerta in June 1940. She was seized in 1942 and became the Italian FR117. She was scuttled in 1943.
- Calypso was at Bizerta in June 1940. She was seized in 1942, but wrecked by Allied bombing in 1943.
- Thétis was at Toulon in June 1940. She was scuttled there in November 1942.
- Doris was sunk in the North Sea in May 1940 by the German submarine U-9.
See also
Notes
References
- Bagnasco, E :Submarines of World War Two (1977) ISBN 0-85368-331-X
- Conway : Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946 (1980) ISBN 0831703032
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