The ''Circé''-class submarines were a sub-class of the 600 Series of

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s built for the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. There were four vessels in the class, built to a Schneider- Laubeuf design. They were ordered in 1925 and completed by 1927.Conway p.273 The four boats of the ''Circé'' class saw action during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, from September 1939 until the French armistice in June 1940.

General characteristics

The ''Circé'' class had a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of 615 tons surfaced and 776 tons submerged. They had an endurance of 3,500 miles at , with a maximum surface speed of , and a submerged speed of . Their armament was seven

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (three forward, two midships, and two aft) with an outfit of 13

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es. As with all French submarines of this period, the midships torpedo tubes were fitted externally in trainable mounts. They had a single

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 w ...

and two machine guns, and were manned by crews of 41 men.

Ships

* was at

Bizerte Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...

in June 1940. She was seized in 1942 and became the Italian ''FR117''. She was

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

in 1943. * was at Bizerte in June 1940. She was seized in 1942, but wrecked by Allied bombing in 1943. * was at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

in June 1940. She was scuttled there in November 1942. * was sunk in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

in May 1940 by the German submarine .

Notes

References

*Bagnasco, E :''Submarines of World War Two'' (1977) *Conway : ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946'' (1980) {{DEFAULTSORT:Circe class submarine (1925) Submarine classes Ship classes of the French Navy

General characteristics

Ships

See also

Notes

References