Hermione was one of three s built for the French Navy during World War I. Completed in 1918, she played a minor role during the war.
Design and description The Bellone class was built as part of the French Navy's 1912 building program,Smigielski, p. 211 intended as enlarged and faster versions of the . The boats displaced surfaced and submerged. They had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draft of . The crew numbered 28 officers and crewmen.Roberts, p. 451
For surface running, the Bellones were powered by a pair of six-cylinder, two-cycle diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. The engines were provided by two different manufacturers and were intended to produce a total of , but were generally only capable of about . During her sister 's sea trials on 12 September 1916, her Chaléassière engines only produced , enough for a speed of rather than the designed . The boats were generally capable of on the surface in service. When submerged each shaft was driven by a electric motor. The designed speed underwater was . The Bellones carried enough fuel oil to give them a surface endurance of at . Their designed submerged endurance was at .
The Bellone-class boats were armed with a total of eight torpedoes. Two of these were positioned in the bow in internal tubes angled outwards 5° 45'. Four other were located in external rotating torpedo launchers, two on each broadside that could traverse 100–120 degrees to the side of the boats. Two more torpedoes were located in external launchers at the stern angled 5° 10' outwards. The boats were also equipped with a Mle 1897G deck gun aft of the conning tower.Garier 2000, p. 56
Construction and career Hermione was ordered on 3 October 1912 and was laid down at the Arsenal de Toulon on 14 April 1913. She was launched on 15 March 1917 and commissioned on 27 April 1918.Roberts, p. 451
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