Circé-class submarine (1907)

The Circé-class submarines consisted of a pair of submarines built for the French Navy () during the first decade of the 20th century. One boat was sunk in a collision before the First World War and the other was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the last year of the war.

Design and description The Circé class were built as part of the French Navy's 1904 building program to a double-hull design by Maxime Laubeuf.Gardiner & Gray, p. 208 The submarines displaced surfaced and submerged. They had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draft of . Their crew numbered 2 officers and 20 enlisted men.Garier 1998, pp. 35, 40

For surface running, the boats were powered by two German MAN diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. During their sea trials in 1908, they reached maximum speeds of on the surface and underwater.Garier 1998, pp. 37–38, 42 The Circé class had a surface endurance of at and a submerged endurance of at .Garier 1998, p. 41

The boats were armed with six external torpedo launchers; four of these were fixed outwards at an angle of five degrees, two firing forward and two firing to the rear. The aft tubes were reversed in March 1911 so they too fired forward. 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. A support for a deck gun was ordered to be installed on 29 March 1911, but the gun itself was never fitted.Garier 1998, p. 38

Ships + Circé-class submarines Ship Builder Laid downCouhat, p. 133 LaunchedGardiner & Gray, p. 208 CommissionedGarnier 1998, p. 34Fate (Q48)Arsenal de Toulon 1905 22 October 1907 5 August 1909Sunk in a collision with Circé, 7 July 1914 (Q47) 13 September 1907 1 August 1909Sunk by , 20 September 1918

Circé-class submarine (1907)

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