French submarine Vendémiaire
 Vendémiaire raising steam on the surface
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | Vendémiaire |
| Namesake | Vendémiaire |
| Builder | Arsenal de Cherbourg |
| Laid down | 1906 |
| Launched | 7 July 1910 |
| Commissioned | 4 February 1911 |
| Fate | Sunk in collision 8 June 1912 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 51.12 m (167 ft 9 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 4.96 m (16 ft 3 in) |
| Draft | 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
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| Complement | 2 officers and 23 crewmen |
| Armament |
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Vendémiaire was a Pluviôse-class submarine built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the late 1900s. She was sunk with all hands when she was rammed by the pre-dreadnought battleship Saint Louis on 8 June 1912 while on maneuvers off the Casquets in the English Channel.
Design and description
[edit]The Pluviôse class were built as part of the French Navy's 1905 building program to a double-hull design by Maxime Laubeuf.[1] The submarines displaced 404 metric tons (398 long tons) surfaced and 553 metric tons (544 long tons) submerged. They had an overall length of 51.12 meters (167 ft 9 in), a beam of 4.96 meters (16 ft 3 in), and a draft of 3.15 meters (10 ft 4 in). Their crew numbered 2 officers and 23 enlisted men.[2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 350-metric-horsepower (345 bhp; 257 kW) triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by two Du Temple boilers. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 230-metric-horsepower (227 bhp; 169 kW) electric motor.[3] On the surface they were designed to reach a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater.[1] The submarines had a surface endurance of 865 nautical miles (1,602 km; 995 mi) at 11.6 knots (21.5 km/h; 13.3 mph) and a submerged endurance of 70 nmi (130 km; 81 mi) at 2.8 knots (5.2 km/h; 3.2 mph).[4]
The first six boats completed were armed with a single 450-millimeter (17.7 in) internal bow torpedo tube; Vendémiare had one fitted in early 1910 while she was still under construction. All of the boats were fitted with six 450 mm external torpedo launchers; the pair firing forward were fixed outwards at an angle of seven degrees and the rear pair had an angle of five degrees. Following a ministerial order on 22 February 1910, the aft tubes were reversed so they too fired forward, but at an angle of eight degrees. The other launchers were a rotating pair of Drzewiecki drop collars in a single mount positioned on top of the hull at the stern. They could traverse 150 degrees to each side of the boat. The Pluviôse-class submarines carried eight torpedoes.[5]
Construction and career
[edit]Vendémiaire, named after the first month of the French Republican calendar, was ordered on 26 August 1905 from the Arsenal de Cherbourg. The submarine was laid down in 1906, launched on 7 July 1910 and commissioned on 4 February 1911.[6]
Vendémiaire sank with the loss of her entire crew of 24 on 8 June 1912 after colliding with the battleship Saint Louis in the English Channel off the Casquets during maneuvers.[7][8]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Gardiner & Gray, p. 209
- ^ Garier 1998, pp. 51, 54, 56, 65
- ^ Garier 1998, pp. 56–59
- ^ Garier 1998, p. 67
- ^ Garier 1998, pp. 59–60
- ^ Couhat, p. 140; Garier 1998, p. 49
- ^ d'Ausson, p. 6
- ^ "Le submersible Vendémiaire a heurté le cuirassé Saint-Louis". Le Petit Journal (in French). 9 June 1912. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
Bibliography
[edit]- d'Ausson, Enseigne de Vaisseau de la Loge (1978). "French Battleship St. Louis". F. P. D. S. Newsletter. VI (1). Akron, Ohio: F. P. D. S.: 6–7. OCLC 41554533.
- Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Garier, Gérard (2002). A l'épreuve de la Grande Guerre. L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 3–2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-81-5.
- Garier, Gérard (1998). Des Émeraude (1905-1906) au Charles Brun (1908–1933). L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). Vol. 2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-34-3.
