French submarine Foucault (Q70)
| Career (France) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Foucault |
| Namesake: | Léon Foucault |
| Ordered: | 30 October 1906 |
| Builder: | Arsenal de Cherbourg |
| Laid down: | 1 November 1906 |
| Launched: | 15 June 1912 |
| Commissioned: | 20 June 1914 |
| Fate: | sunk in action 15 September 1916 |
| 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 |
French submarine Foucault (Q70) was a Laubeuf type submarine[2] of the of Brumaire class, built for the French Navy prior to World War I.[1]
Design and construction
Foucault was ordered by the French Navy as part of its 1906 progrmame and was laid down at the Cherbourg Naval Yard in November of that year. Work progressed slowly, and she was not launched until 15 June 1912. She was commissioned on 20 June 1914. Foucault was equipped with licence-built M.A.N. diesel engines for surface propulsion, and electric motors for power while submerged. She carried eight torpedoes, two internally and six externally.[1] Foucault was named for Léon Foucault, the 19th century French physicist.[3]
Service history
At the outbreak of the First World War Foucault was part of the French Mediterranean Fleet, and sailed with that force to the Adriatic tasked with bringing the Austro-Hungarian Fleet to battle or blockading it in its home ports.
On 15 September 1916, while on patrol off Cattaro under the command of Lt. L Devin, Foucault was spotted under the surface by two Austro-Hungarian seaplanes. These were L132, flown by Lts. Konjovics and Sewera, and L135 (Lts. Zelezny and.Klimburg). The two planes proceeded to bomb Foucault, scoring hits and forcing her to the surface, Unable to dive and without power, Devin ordered her to be abandoned and scuttled. All her crew escaped without casualties. The seaplanes landed and took the crew prisoner, holding them until the arrival of an Austrian torpedo boat. This incident was the first instance of a submarine at sea being sunk by air attack.[4][5]
Notes
References
- Gardiner R, Gray R: Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1906-1921 (1985) ISBN 085177 245 5
- Moore, J: Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War I (1919, reprinted 2003) ISBN 1 85170 378 0
- Price, A: Aircraft versus Submarine (1973) ISBN 1 84415 091 7
External links
- Castel, Marc: Foucault at Sous-marins Français 1863 - pagesperso-orange.fr (French)
- Sieche, Erwin: French naval operations in the Adriatic at gwpda.org
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