French submarine ''Alose'' (Q33) (“Shad”) is a '' Naïade''-class submarine of the Romazotti type. She was built for the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

at the beginning of the 20th century. ''Alose'' remained in service until just prior to the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Design and construction

''Alose'' was ordered by the French Navy under its 1900 building programme, one of a class of twenty. She was designed by Gaston Romazotti, an early French submarine engineer. ''Alose'' was built at the Toulon Naval Dockyard and was launched on 12 October 1904. She was single-hulled, with dual propulsion, and constructed of Roma-bronze, a copper alloy of Romazotti's devising. ''Alose'' was named for the Shad, an open-water fish of the herring family.Conway p207

Service history

''Alose'' entered service in July 1907, and was employed on coastal duties, guarding ports and harbours. She was involved in several accidents, though none resulted in serious damage. In November 1906 she was struck by the steamer ''Mouette'' in

Toulon Roads The military port of Toulon (french: arsenal de Toulon) is the principal base of the French Navy and the largest naval base in the Mediterranean, sited in the city of Toulon. It holds most of France's force d'action navale, comprising the airc ...

. In November 1910 she collided with sister ship ''Bonite'', damaging both.

Fate

''Alose'' was stricken in May 1914Conway p207 and was used as a target ship, being sunk off Fréjus in March 1918. In 1975 the wreck was discovered by French divers off Lion rock, near Saint-Raphaël, Var. She was raised and restored as a museum ship in May 1976, and now stands outside the offices of COMEX in Marseilles.French submarine ''Alose'' (Q33)
at sous-marins francais (archived page; retrieved 25 February 2017. (French)

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alose (1904) Naïade-class submarine 1904 ships Ships built in France Maritime incidents in 1906 Maritime incidents in 1910 Maritime incidents in 1918 Ships sunk as targets Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Museum ships in France