French submarine Pluviôse (Q51)
 French submarine Pluviôse in Boulogne harbour | |
| Career (France) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Pluviôse |
| Namesake: | The month of Pluviôse |
| Builder: | Arsenal de Cherbourg |
| Launched: | 27 May 1907 |
| Commissioned: | 10 May 1908 |
| Fate: |
Sunk in collision 26 May 1910: raised and repaired; stricken 1919 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | Pluviôse-class submarine |
| Displacement: | 398 t (392 long tons), surfaced 550 t (540 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 167 ft 4 in (51.00 m) |
| Beam: | 16 ft 4 in (4.98 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m), surfaced |
| Propulsion: | 2 × propeller shafts 2 × Du Temple boilers 2 × reciprocating steam engines, surfaced, 700 ihp (520 kW) total 2 × electric motors, submerged, 450 shp (340 kW) total |
| Speed: | 12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h), surfaced 8.8 knots (10.1 mph; 16.3 km/h), submerged |
| Range: | 1,500 nmi (2,800 km) @ 10 knots (19 km/h), surfaced 50 nmi (93 km) @ 5 knots (9.3 km/h), submerged |
| Complement: | 24 |
| Armament: | 1 × 17.7 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tube, up to 8 torpedoes |
French submarine Pluviôse (Q51) was a Laubeuf type submarine[2] built for the French Navy prior to World War I. She was the name ship of her class.[1]
Design and construction
Pluviôse was ordered by the French Navy as part of its 1905 programme and was laid down at the Cherbourg Naval Yard in November of that year. She was launched on 27 May 1907 and commissioned 10 May 1908. Pluviôse was equipped with Du Temple boilers and reciprocating steam engines for surface propulsion, and CGE Nancy electric motors for power while submerged. She carried eight torpedoes, two internally and six externally.[1] Pluviôse was named for a month of the French Revolutionary calendar.
Service history
On the afternoon of 26 May 1910 Pluviôse was cruising off Calais when she was involved in a collision with the packet boat Pas de Calais. Pluviôse sank with the loss of all hands, 27 men. The vessel was later raised and repaired, though she was not returned to front-line service, being disarmed and used for compression tests.
Her captain at the time of the accident Maurice Callot, was later honoured by having a submarine named after him.
Pluviôse was stricken in 1919 and sold for scrap in 1925.
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
External links
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