''Minerve''-class submarines were a class of submarine 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 th ...

prior to World War II. The class were based on the French Admiralty 630 series design, but with more power and better armament. The class had six internal 550 mm

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 abo ...

s (four in the bow and two in the stern) and three 400 mm tubes mounted externally on a moveable triple mount. ''Minerve'' and ''Junon'' were seized by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

in July 1940, following the

battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, and handed over to the Free French Forces in September the same year, and served throughout the war. ''Minerve'' was wrecked off

Chesil Beach Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain.A. P. Carr and M. W. L. Blackley, "Investigations Bearing on the Age and Development of Chesil Beach, Dorset, and the Associa ...

in September 1945, while ''Junon'' returned to France and served until 1954. The other four boats remained under

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of V ...

control until November 1942 when, following the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 193 ...

, ''Pallas'' and ''Cérès'' were scuttled at Oran, and ''Vénus'' scuttled at Toulon, while ''Iris'' sailed for the neutral port of Cartagena, and was interned there until after the end of the war. She was returned to France in November 1945, and remained in service until 1950.

Submarines of the class

* (Q185) : Built : Arsenal de Cherbourg, Cherbourg : Laid down : 17 August 1931 : Launched : 23 October 1934 : Commissioned : 15 September 1936 : Fate : Wrecked, 19 September 1945 * (Q186) :Built : Chantiers et Ateliers Normand, Le Havre :Laid down : 9 June 1932 :Launched : 15 September 1935 :Commissioned : 20 September 1937 :Decommissioned : 6 December 1954 :Fate : Scrapped, 1960 * (Q187) :Built : Chantiers Worms, Rouen :Laid down : 27 June 1932 :Launched : 6 April 1935 :Commissioned : 15 November 1936 :Fate : Scuttled at Toulon, 27 November 1942 * (Q188) :Built : Ateliers et Chantiers Dubigeon, Nantes :Laid down : 1 July 1932 :Launched : 23 September 1934 :Commissioned : 15 September 1936 :Fate : Struck, 1 February 1950 * (Q189) :Built : Chantiers et Ateliers Normand, Le Havre :Laid down : 19 October 1936 :Launched : 25 August 1938 :Commissioned : 12 June 1939 :Fate : Scuttled at Oran, 9 November 1942 * (Q190) :Built : Chantiers Worms, Rouen :Laid down : 8 August 1936 :Launched : 9 December 1938 :Commissioned : 15 July 1939 :Fate : Scuttled at Oran, 9 November 1942

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minerve class submarine Submarine classes Ship classes of the French Navy

Submarines of the class

See also

References