Maxime Laubeuf was a French maritime engineer of the late nineteenth century. He was born on 23 November 1864 at

Poissy Poissy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Inhabitan ...

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. Laubeuf was a pioneer in the design and building 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, and was responsible for a number of the innovations that led to modern submarine design. His work had a profound influence on the design of submersibles in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Laubeuf studied at the Ecole Polytechnique, and after graduating in 1883, he joined

ENSTA The ENSTA Paris, officially École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (; ), is a French graduate school of engineering (''école d'ingénieurs''). Founded in 1741, it is the oldest ''grande école'' in France. It is located in Palaise ...

, the French military's school of Marine Engineering. He became an Assistant Engineer in 1887, and Engineer in 1891. During this time, he worked at Brest on the development of submersibles and designs for the first modern submarines in 1904. Two years later, he left the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

to continue building submarines in private industry. In 1896, the French government staged a design competition for a submarine of advanced capabilities. They required a 200-ton vessel with a surface speed of 12

knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...

s and a 100-mile range, with a submerged speed of 6 knots and a 10-mile range. Laubeuf's design, ''Narval'', was the winner out of 29 entries. Laubeuf determined that to run efficiently on the surface and submerged his submarine would need two separate power systems; most designers up to that point had tried to find a single system for both, with mixed success. The high surface speed demanded made a steam system necessary for surface running, while using an electric motor underwater. He also arranged to use the surface engine to re-charge the batteries for the electric motor whilst on the surface. Laubeuf also tackled the stability problem that beset submarine designs. The rounded pressure hull necessary to withstand the pressure at depth was a poor shape for sailing, making them unhandy on the surface and unstable submerged. Laubeufs's design had a double hull; an inner, rounded, reinforced hull to resist pressure, and an outer, boat-shaped hull to make the vessel seaworthy. These innovations were a leap forward in submarine design, and were adopted by navies around the world.Miller p116 Laubeuf became a member of the French Naval Academy and was elected member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

in 1920.

Notes

References

*Miller, D : Submarines of the World (1991) *
Maxime Laubeuf and Narval : warandgame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laubeuf, Maxime 1939 deaths Submarine pioneers French marine engineers 1864 births People from Poissy École Polytechnique alumni Members of the French Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the École Normale Supérieure