The French submarine ''Amazone'' was an ''Armide''-class diesel-electric

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called ...

built for the

Greek Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...

before and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It was built in the Schneider-Creusot shipyards between 1913 and 1916, but was seized during the war by the French Government before it could be sold, on 3 June 1915. ''Amazone'' operated in the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

during the course of World War I and was stricken from the Navy list in July 1932.

Design

The ''Amazone'' was long, with a beam of and a draught of .Gardiner, p. 212 It had a surfaced displacement of and a submerged displacement of .Couhat, p. 160 Propulsion while surfaced was provided by two diesel motors built by Schneider-Carels and two electric motors. The submarine's electrical propulsion allowed it to attain speeds of while submerged and on the surface.Fontenoy, p. 86 Its surfaced range was at , with a submerged range of at . The submarine was armed with four torpedo tubes and a L/34 M1897

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

. The crew consisted of 31 officers and seamen.

Construction and service

''Amazone'' was ordered by the Greek Navy in 1913, based on a design by

Maxime Laubeuf Maxime Laubeuf was a French maritime engineer of the late nineteenth century. He was born on 23 November 1864 at Poissy, Yvelines, and died on 23 December 1939 in Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes. Laubeuf was a pioneer in the design and building of s ...

. The ship, which was initially designated ''X'',Gardiner, p. 387 was confiscated by the French Government on 30 May 1917 during

. ''Amazone'' was built in the

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People *Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of the D ...

shipyard in Chalon-sur-Saone. It was laid down in 1913,Couhat, p. 162 launched in August 1916, and completed in June 1917. It was named after the mythological creatures, the

Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercule ...

. After its launching, ''Amazone'' served on the Adriatic Sea until 1918, when it was assigned to the 3rd Submarine Flotilla, based in

Moudros Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eas ...

, Greece. On 20 April 1928, she was renamed ''Amazone II'' to release the name for a new submarine, ''Amazone''. ''Amazone II'' was struck from the Naval Register in July 1932.

References

Citations

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amazone (1916) World War I submarines of France Armide-class submarines 1916 ships