Calypso was one of two s built for the French Navy () in the first decade of the 20th century.
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 her surfaced sea trials on 19 February 1909, Calypso reached a maximum speed of from ; during her submerged trials on 27 July she reached from .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
Construction and career The Circé-class submarines were ordered on 8 October 1904.Garier, p. 35 Calypso was laid down in 1905Couhat, p. 133 at the Arsenal de Toulon, launched on 24 October 1907 and commissioned on 5 August 1909.Garier 1998, p. 34
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