272:
In
November 1942, with the invasion of Vichy territory by the Germans, many of the remaining vessels were scuttled, or captured by the Axis. Those that survived, or managed to escape, joined the FNFL; despite losses, and with replacement from allied navies, France ended the war with 20 submarines in
232:
While being designed by different bureaux, the French submarines of this period shared a number of features. They were generally double-hulled, with an emphasis on good surface handling, though this led to them being indifferent divers. They also emphasized habitability, needing to be suitable for
72:
opposed this. However the conference did place restrictions on the number and size of warships of various types that nations could build. The ocean-going submarine was restricted to a 1500-ton surface displacement, while the coastal submarine was limited to 600 tons, though there was no limit placed
236:
One unique feature was the use of external torpedo mounts. As well as torpedo tubes in the bow and stern, most French submarines carried torpedo tubes externally in trainable mounts, built into the outer casing. These could be trained to fire at various angles beyond fore and aft, but could not be
237:
re-loaded at sea. French submarines also mounted torpedoes of different calibres, typically carrying the 400mm (15.75 inch) torpedo, for use against "soft" targets such as merchant ships, as well as the 550mm (21.7 in) torpedo for use against warships.
122:
In 1923 the French Navy placed orders for a series of coastal/seagoing Type 2 boats. The order was placed with three different design bureaux, which led to three different designs to the same specification. Known collectively as the
44:
France had a fleet of 36 submarines, in a variety of classes, plus 11 ex-German U-boats; these were mostly obsolete (all had been disposed of by the 1930s) and she was interested in replacing them. To this end the
252:
One submarine had been sunk in action, and several others scuttled to prevent their capture; seven others, in
British ports at the time of the armistice, became part of the Free French naval force (
245:
The role of the French submarine force in 1939 was to act in concert with the French fleet and with France's allies against the Axis powers, with particular responsibilities in the
249:. It also operated in defence of France's overseas territories and colonial empire. This changed in 1940 with the fall of France and the signing of the armistice with Germany.
221:, for many years the largest submarine ever built. However the vessel had little role to play in French naval strategy, and the experiment was not repeated.
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112:, a Type 1 submarine. These ran to 9 vessels, but their indifferent performance led to calls for an improved design. This came in 1924 with the
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made plans for a fleet of vessels in three Types: Type I ocean-going / grand patrol; Type 2 coastal defence; Type 3 mine layers.
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Thus in 1939 France had, in total, a fleet of 77 submarines, making it the fifth largest submarine force in the world at that time.
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France also experimented with the concept of the submarine cruiser, in common with other navies of the time. In 1926 she built the
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Over the next two years 16 submarines were lost in Vichy service, mostly in clashes with
British and Allied forces.
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60:. There was discussion of banning submarines altogether, and to outlaw their use (a course favoured by
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service in France's colonial empire, which could mean long voyages and operations in the tropics.
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classes, a further 16 boats. In 1934 the Navy opted for a standardized
Admiralty design, the
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was one of the largest in the world at that time. It saw action during the
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order, they were completed for the French Navy and commissioned in 1921.
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class, a 1925 order for 6 boats. These were followed in 1937 by the
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25:
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class, but again these were not built before the 1940 armistice.
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classes, a total of 10 boats. They were followed in 1926 by the
119:, a successful design, which ran to 31 vessels in three series.
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149:, another three classes from the same bureaux. These were the
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service, having lost 50 boats from a variety of causes.
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At the same time, the major powers were negotiating an
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on the numbers of these vessels that could be built.
32:, more than three-quarters of the fleet, were lost.
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28:'s position at that time. During the conflict, 59
567:Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946
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8:
200:The type 3 minelayer was represented by the
24:but had a chequered service history due to
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606:
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189:class, were ordered but not built, due to
628:French naval ship classes of World War II
468:In addition, Free French forces operated
282:Type 1 grand patrol/ocean-going submarine
181:, a larger, much improved version of the
569:. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press.
495:
415: : 8 ordered; 1 completed by 1939
18:French submarine fleet of World War II
474:, a British built U-class submarine.
78:completed by France after World War I
7:
308:(1st series) : 19 units 1928-31
185:. And further enlarged design, the
327:Type 2 coastal/sea-going submarines
320:(3rd series) : 6 units 1934-37
314:(2nd series) : 6 units 1931-34
539:French navy submarines at uboatnet
424: : 13 ordered; none completed
256:). The captured Aurore class boat
14:
1257:World War II submarines of France
449: : 4 ordered; none completed
302: : 31 units built 1928–1937
262:was taken into German service as
440: : 6 units built 1928–1935
406: : 6 units built 1934–1938
395: : 9 units built 1930–1932
377: : 5 units built 1929–1932
361: : 4 units built 1925–1927
352: : 4 units built 1925–1927
343: : 4 units built 1925–1926
174:of 6 boats, and in 1939 by the
105:In 1922–23 France ordered the
1:
565:Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980).
484:List of submarines of France
80:were the three boats of the
552:Submarines of World War Two
429:Type 3 minelayer submarines
58:Washington Naval Conference
1273:
386: : 2 units built 1931
1212:
464: : 1 unit built 1929
293:: 9 units built 1928–1931
1231:Completed after the war
585:Submarines of the World
191:France's defeat in 1940
98:). Initially built on
54:arms limitation treaty
96:Louis Dupetit-Thouars
76:The first submarines
1225:Single ship of class
534:Sous-marins francais
36:Construction history
193:and the subsequent
1159:minelaying cruiser
550:Bagnasco, E :
1244:
1243:
1205:(seaplane tender)
635:Aircraft carriers
454:Cruiser submarine
127:, these were the
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1183:submarine tender
1166:Commandant Teste
788:La Galissonnière
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583:Miller, D :
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1115:Bougainville
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905:La Melpomène
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844:Le Fantasque
843:
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781:Émile Bertin
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774:Jeanne d'Arc
773:
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511:Bagnasco p40
507:
502:Bagnasco p38
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56:at the 1922
51:
39:
17:
15:
1178:Jules Verne
747:Saint-Louis
669:Battleships
520:Miller p114
47:French Navy
42:World War I
1219:Lend-Lease
1202:Sans Souci
1094:Ville d'Ys
1032:Redoutable
967:Submarines
930:Escorteurs
871:Bourrasque
862:Destroyers
807:destroyers
545:References
367:630 Series
333:600 Series
306:Redoutable
298:Redoutable
147:630 Series
125:600 Series
115:Redoutable
30:submarines
1237:Cancelled
997:Argonaute
837:Vauquelin
795:De Grasse
699:Richelieu
692:Dunkerque
373:Argonaute
195:armistice
152:Argonaute
1251:Category
1195:netlayer
885:Le Hardi
878:L'Adroit
726:Duquesne
685:Bretagne
478:See also
445:Émeraude
259:Favorite
209:Émeraude
100:Romanian
1136:Chamois
1046:Minerve
1039:Surcouf
912:Le Fier
851:Mogador
823:Guépard
740:Algérie
733:Suffren
678:Courbet
658:Dixmude
587:(1991)
554:(1977)
461:Surcouf
402:Minerve
277:Classes
218:Surcouf
183:Minerve
170:Minerve
88:O'Byrne
86:class (
83:O'Byrne
64:) both
62:Britain
1154:Pluton
1108:Scarpe
1087:Arabis
1078:Avisos
1067:Narval
1053:Aurore
1025:Requin
1018:Saphir
983:Ariane
976:Sirène
951:PC-461
944:Cannon
816:Chacal
805:Large
706:Alsace
651:Joffre
591:
573:
558:
436:Saphir
420:Phénix
411:Aurore
348:Ariane
339:Sirène
318:Agosta
312:Espoir
289:Requin
203:Saphir
187:Phenix
177:Aurore
136:Ariane
130:Sirène
108:Requin
66:France
40:After
26:France
1146:Other
1101:Arras
1060:Curie
1011:Diane
1004:Orion
990:Circé
957:River
830:Aigle
644:BĂ©arn
490:Notes
471:Curie
447:class
438:class
422:class
413:class
404:class
393:class
391:Diane
384:class
382:Orion
375:class
359:class
357:Circé
350:class
341:class
300:class
291:class
179:class
172:class
164:Diane
158:Orion
142:Circé
117:class
110:class
70:Italy
1122:Élan
589:ISBN
571:ISBN
556:ISBN
264:UF-2
254:FNFL
161:and
139:and
94:and
68:and
16:The
22:war
1253::
1216:LL
197:.
155:,
133:,
90:,
1234:X
1228:C
1222:S
1197:)
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1157:(
621:e
614:t
607:v
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