The ''Narval'' class (''sous-marins d'escadre'', "fleet submarines") were patrol
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 ...
in the 1950s.
Design
The ''Narval'' type was an offspring of the ''E-48'' project, inspired by the German
Type XXI U-boat
Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric '' Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only two w ...
s of the Second World War, particularly which were brought into French service.
Compared to the Type XXI, the ''Narval'' class introduced an entirely new
schnorchel system and novel detection systems, gained 33% in operational range on electric power (, compared to the available to the type XXI), and doubled the test depth. The
propeller
A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
s were also particularly studied to minimise noise.
The hulls of the ''Narval''s were assembled from seven sections welded together.
The engine were two-stroke
diesels made by the French constructor Schneider, which proved unreliable and noisy to the point where the engine section became difficult to man at full power.
From 1966 to 1970, the ''Narval''s underwent extensive modernisation, where their engines were replaced by a diesel-electrical design based on the SEMT-Pielstick 12PA4-185. The two stern
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 were deleted, electronics were replaced, and the
conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...
was replaced by a more modern sail plan from the .
Service history
The ''Narval''s were used to explore limits of submarines performances in several ways.
In 1958, and broke the 30-day world record of the longest underwater cruise held jointly by the
nuclear-powered
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
and , with 32 and 42 days submerged respectively.
In 1964, and sailed up to the
70th parallel north
Following are circles of latitude between the 65th parallel north and the 70th parallel north. This includes the Arctic Circle, at 66°33′49.6″ north.
66th parallel north
The 66th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 66 degrees n ...
to prepare the first French attempts at navigation under sea ice. These tests were carried out the next year by ''Dauphin'' and when they spent a week and a half in the
72nd parallel north
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...
.
During her last years, from 1980, ''Requin'' was fitted with the
sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
system planned for the M4 refit of the
SNLE. Similarly, ''Dauphin'' was extensively modified from 1986 to be used as a test bed for equipment and sensors to be installed on the s, then under design. When finally decommissioned in 1992, she was the oldest submarine in service. She was later expended as a target ship off
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 1985, ''Espadon'' became the first French submarine used as a
museum ship
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
.
Ships
See also
*
List of submarines of France
The submarines of France include Nuclear submarine, nuclear attack submarines and nuclear ballistic missile submarines of various List of submarine classes, classes, operated by the French Navy as part of the Submarine forces (France), French Subma ...
References
* ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995''
Les sous-marins d'escadre type ''Narval''
Submarine classes
Ship classes of the French Navy
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