French submarine Joule (Q84)

Career (France)
Name: Joule
Namesake: James Prescott Joule
Ordered: 29 October 1906
Builder: Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down: 1 November 1906
Launched: 7 September 1911
Commissioned: 10 May 1912
Fate: sunk in action 1 May 1915
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 Joule (Q84) was a Laubeuf type submarine[2] the of Brumaire class, built for the French Navy prior to World War I.[1]

Design and construction

Joule was ordered by the French Navy as part of its 1906 progrmame and was laid down at the Toulon Naval Yard in November of that year. Work progressed slowly, and she was not launched until 7 September 1911. She was commissioned on 10 May 1912. Joule 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] Joule was named for James Prescott Joule, the 19th century British physicist.[3]

Service history

At the outbreak of the First World War Joule was part of the French Mediterranean Fleet. In the spring of 1915 she was dispached as part of a French task force to assist in the naval assault on the Dardanelles, the first stage of the Gallipoli campaign.

At the end of April, under the command of Lt. L Aubert Dupetit-Thouars, Joule began an attempt to penetrate the straits in order to attack Turkish shipping in the Sea of Marmara. However, on 1 May 1915 all contact was lost. It was later established Joule ran into a Turkish minefield, struck a mine, and was sunk. All 31 of her crew were lost.[1][3]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Conway p209-10
  2. Jane p199
  3. 3.0 3.1 Castel

References

External links