1500 ton type

**1500 ton type**
	A redoutable class boat
Ship data
country	France
Ship type	Submarine
Shipyard	At. & Chantiers de la Loire , Saint-Nazaire; At. & Chantiers de Penhoët, Saint-Nazaire ; Arsenal de Brest; Chantiers Navals Francais, Caen; At. & Ch. Dubigeon, Nantes; Arsenal de Lorient; Arsenal de Cherbourg; Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer
Units built	31
Ship dimensions and crew
	Data of the Redoutable class to 1941
length	92.3 m ( Lüa )
width	8.2 m
Draft	Max. 4.7 m
displacement	above water: 1,570 ts; under water: 2,084 ts
crew	61 men
Machine system
machine	Diesel engine
Machine ; performance	6,000 PS (4,413 kW)
propeller	2
Machine system
machine	Electric motor
Machine ; performance	1000
Mission data submarine
Radius of action	over water:; 10,000 nm (18,520 km) at 10 kn ; 4,000 nm (7,400 km) at 17 kn ; under water:; 100 nm (185 km) at 5 kn nm
Dive time	45-50 seconds
Immersion depth, max.	80 m
Top ; speed ; submerged	10 kn (19 km / h)
Top ; speed ; surfaced	17 kn (31 km / h)
Armament
	1 × deck gun 100 mm L / 40; 2 × Fla - MG 13.2 mm; 9 × torpedo tube ⌀ 550 mm (4 in front, 3 amidships, 2 in rear); 2 × torpedo tube ⌀ 400 mm (4 front, 3 amidships, 2 rear);

The 1500 tonne type was a submarine type used by the French Navy . In the French type classification of the time, it was first class boats. Between 1925 and 1939, 31 boats were built in three lots at eight shipyards . The 1500 tonne type was the most successful and widely used French submarine type during World War II .

Design features

The two-hull construction was designed in 1922 and was the most standardized submarine building program in the French Navy at the time. The envelope was designed for diving depths of up to 80 m. The boats were fast and had excellent maneuverability when submerged. The high overwater range of 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km) allowed it to be used throughout the French colonial empire .

drive

The boats had a classic combination of two diesel and electric motors that drove two propellers .

The electric drive power was 1000 hp. A maximum speed of 10 kn (19 km / h) could be reached under submerged conditions. The accumulators allowed an underwater range of 100 nm (185 km) at a speed of 5 kn (9 km / h).

The only difference between the 31 boats, apart from negligible details, was the performance of the diesel engines and the resulting surface speed:

The first construction lot was built between 1925 and 1934 and is known as the Redoutable class . The diesel engines had an output of 6,000 hp (4,474 kW ). The boats drove over water at a maximum speed of 17 knots (31 km / h).
The second lot was built between 1929 and 1937 and is called the L'Espoire class . The output of the diesel engines has been increased to 7,200 hp (5,369 kW). The maximum speed over water was 19 kn (35 km / h).
The third and last construction lot was built between 1931 and 1939 and is known as the Agosta class . The diesel engines were further enlarged and achieved an output of 8,600 hp (6,413 kW). The boats of the Agosta class were the fastest submarines of the 1500 tonne type at 20 kn (37 km / h) over water.

From 1941 onwards, several boats were converted. Part of the diving cells was used as an additional fuel tank. The route was almost doubled through the conversion.

Armament

The boats of all three classes originally had the same armament.

The boats were armed with a 100 mm deck gun. For the air defense two 13.2 mm were Hotchkiss - machine guns mounted in individual carriages.

The torpedo armament consisted of nine 550 mm and two 400 mm torpedo tubes . The larger tubes could be adapted to the British 533 mm torpedoes via an adapter. Four 550 mm tubes were internally reloadable in the bow. Three more were arranged in an external pivoting triplet set behind the tower . The remaining two 550 mm tubes were installed together with the two 400 mm tubes in an external swiveling set of four in the rear. The external pipes were not reloadable at sea. The complicated construction of the pivoting tubes was necessary because the control of the French torpedoes of the time was very unreliable and the tubes had to be shot directly at the target.

Some of the submarines on the Allied side were rebuilt in Great Britain and the United States from 1942 . The anti-aircraft armament was reinforced by two 20-mm anti-aircraft guns . Furthermore, the 400 mm and 550 mm torpedo tubes in the stern were removed and replaced by three 533 mm tubes, so that the quadruple became a triplet and the total number of large-caliber torpedo tubes increased to 10.

Mission history

Two submarines were lost before the war.

At the time of the French declaration of war on the German Reich on September 3, 1939, the boats were stationed in the entire French sphere of influence from the motherland to Indochina . Most of the boats were in the northern French ports and operated against German merchant shipping after the start of the war. The greatest success was when Poncelet raised the German freighter Chemnitz (5,900 GRT ) as a prize on September 28, 1939 .

In June 1940 the German Wehrmacht reached the French Atlantic ports. At that time, four boats were in Brest for overhaul in shipyards and could not sail. The crews destroyed the submarines in order to remove them from German access. After France surrendered on June 22, 1940, a boat was interned in Alexandria and later used on the Free French side. The boat was sunk by German planes in 1943. A boat was sunk by a German submarine as a result of a mix-up. Three more boats were sunk off the West African coast in the autumn of 1940.

The remaining 21 submarines remained under the control of the Vichy regime . One of these boats was decommissioned in Indochina.

In the spring of 1942 the British occupied the colony of Madagascar, which was under Vichy-French control ( Operation Ironclad ). During the fighting, three boats were sunk by British planes and destroyers .

Three other boats were during Operation Torch by Allied Attacks lost, as in November 1942 Anglo-American units in French North Africa landed.

In response to the Allied invasion of North Africa, the Germans also occupied southern France. The remnants of the French fleet sank themselves to prevent a takeover by the Axis powers . Seven boats of the type sunk themselves in Toulon . Another boat was sunk off Cádiz ( Spain ) itself. The German Navy and the Italian Navy lifted some of the sunken boats. However, only the Henry Poincaré was towed to Genoa for repairs and renamed FR 118 . Nothing is known about an operation under the Italian flag.

The remaining five boats were taken over by the Allies and survived the war. The units were decommissioned between 1946 and 1952 and removed from the fleet registers.

losses

A boat was lost in an accident. Another boat is missing. Two submarines were sunk by the Germans. Twelve submarines were sunk themselves. The Allies sank nine boats. Only six submarines survived the war.

year	accident	Missing	Submerged	Enemy influence (allies)	Enemy influence (axis)
1932	Promethée
1939		Phénix
1940			Achille , Agosta , Pasteur , Ouessant	Persée , Poncelet , Ajax	Sfax
1942			Achéron , L'Espoire , Fresnel , Poincaré , Pascal , Redoutable , Le Tonnant , Vengeur	Actéon , Bévéziers , Le Conquérant , Le Héros , Sidi Ferruch , Monge
1943					Protée

Boats of the type

Redoutable class

Between 1925 and 1934, a total of 19 redoutable class submarines were built at eight shipyards :

boat	Build number	Shipyard	Keel laying	Launch	Start of duty	End of service	comment
Achéron	Q 150	At. & Ch. De la Loire, St. Nazaire	1927	1929	1932	1942	Sunk in Toulon.
Achille	Q 147	Arsenal de Brest	1928	1930	1933	1940	Sunk in Brest itself.
Actéon	Q 149	At. & Ch. De la Loire, St. Nazaire	1927	1929	1931	1942	Sunk by a British destroyer off Oran ( Algeria ).
Ajax	Q 148	Arsenal de Brest	1928	1930	1934	1940	Sunk by a British destroyer off Dakar ( Senegal ).
Archimède	Q 142	Chantiers Navals Francais, Caen	1927	1930	1932	1952	Joined the Allies in November 1942.
Argo	Q 151	At. & Ch. Dubigeon, Nantes	1927	1929	1933	1946	Joined the Allies in November 1942.
Fresnel	Q 143	At. & Ch. De St. Nazaire-Penhoët, St. Nazaire	1927	1929	1932	1942	Sunk in front of Toulon.
Monge	Q 144	F. Chantier de la Méditerranée, La Seyne	1927	1929	1932	1942	Sunk by two British destroyers off Madagascar.
Pascal	Q 138	Arsenal de Brest	1926	1928	1931	1942	Sunk in Toulon.
Pasteur	Q 139	Arsenal de Brest	1926	1928	1932	1940	Sunk in Brest itself.
Pégase	Q 156	At. & Ch. De la Loire, St. Nazaire	1928	1930	1932	1941	Decommissioned in Saigon ( Vietnam ).
Persée	Q 154	Chantiers Navals Francais, Caen	1929	1931	1934	1940	Sunk by two British destroyers off Dakar / Senegal.
Phénix	Q 157					1939	Sank in East Asia under unexplained circumstances.
Poincaré	Q 140	Arsenal of the Lorient	1927	1929	1931	1942	Sunk in front of Toulon. Raised by Italians and in FR. 118 renamed.
Poncelet	Q 141	Arsenal de Lorient	1927	1929	1932	1940	Sunk by a British sloop off Gabon .
Promethée	Q 153					1932	Sunk in a diving accident off Cherbourg.
Protée	Q 155	F. Chantier de la Méditerranée, La Seyne	1928	1930	1932	1943	Free French from 1940, sunk by German aircraft.
Redoutable	Q 136	Arsenal de Cherbourg	1925	1928	1931	1942	Sunk in Toulon.
Vengeur	Q 137	Arsenal de Cherbourg	1926	1928	1931	1942	Sunk in Toulon.

L'Espoire class

Between 1929 and 1937, a total of six L'Espoire- class boats were built at five shipyards .

boat	Build number	Shipyard	Keel laying	Launch	Start of duty	End of service	comment
L'Espoire	Q 167	Arsenal de Cherbourg	1929	1931	1934	1942	Sunk in Toulon.
Le Centaure	Q 169	Arsenal de Brest	1930	1932	1935	1952	Joined the Allies in November 1942.
Le Conquérant	Q 171	At. & Ch. De la Loire, St. Nazaire	1930	1934	1936	1942	Sunk by American flying boats off Ad-Dakhla ( Western Sahara ).
Le Glorieux	Q 168	At. & Ch. De St. Nazaire-Penhoët, St. Nazaire	1930	1931	1934	1952	Joined the Allies in November 1942.
Le Héros	Q 170	Arsenal de Brest	1930	1932	1934	1942	Sunk by British aircraft off Madagascar.
Le Tonnant	Q 172	F. Chantier de la Méditerranée, La Seyne	1931	1934	1937	1942	Sunk in front of Cádiz ( Spain ).

Agosta class

Between 1931 and 1939, a total of six Agosta class boats were built at two shipyards .

boat	Build number	Shipyard	Keel laying	Launch	Start of duty	End of service	comment
Agosta	Q 178	Arsenal de Cherbourg	1931	1934	1937	1940	Sunk in Brest itself.
Bévéziers	Q 179	Arsenal de Cherbourg	1932	1935	1937	1942	Sunk by British aircraft off Madagascar.
Casabianca	Q 183	At. & Ch. De la Loire, St. Nazaire	1931	1935	1937	1952	Joined the Allies in November 1942.
Ouessant	Q 180	Arsenal de Cherbourg	1932	1936	1939	1940	Sunk in Brest itself.
Sfax	Q 182	At. & Ch. De la Loire, St. Nazaire	1931	1934	1936	1940	Erroneously sunk by a German submarine off Tarfaya ( Morocco ).
Sidi Ferruch	Q 181	Arsenal de Cherbourg	1932	1937	1939	1942	Sunk by American planes off Casablanca (Morocco).

literature

Erminio Bagnasco: Submarines in World War II. 5th edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-613-01252-9 .

Web links

Redoutable class in uboat.net ( engl. )
L'Espoire class on uboat.net (English)
Agosta class in uboat.net
perso.orange.fr - Overview of French submarines ( French )

Footnotes

↑ ^a ^b Erminio Bagnasco is in submarines in World War II. for the electric drive power 1000 HP. The uboat.net gives 2,000 PS (1,491 kW). A comparison with other submarines of this time indicates the lower value. The underwater speed, which is higher than the 600-630-ton type with greater displacement, indicates 2,000 hp, but could also be due to a possibly more aerodynamic shape.

↑ The French Navy distinguished three classes of submarines: 1st class boats were deep-sea boats. 2nd class boats were smaller coastal boats. 3rd class boats were mine layers .

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Erminio Bagnasco gives the year 1924 for the laying of the keel of Redoutable and Vengeur in submarines during World War II . The data given in the text come from uboat.net. Both sources agree on the launch and commissioning.

↑ ^a ^b The class should not be confused with the strategic nuclear submarine class of the same name, built during the Cold War and now decommissioned . see: Redoutable class (1967)
↑ ^a ^b The class should not be confused with the submarine class of the same name from the 1970s. This class was the last conventionally powered French submarine class and is still in service in Pakistan and Spain today . see: Agosta class (1977)
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Since the sources used only contain information about boats used in the war, details of their construction and the class of boats sunk in peacetime are not known. Prométhée was lost in 1932, so it can only belong to the class built first. Phénix was lost in 1939, but was assigned to the Redoutable class because the name fits into the scheme.

[Elektroleistung-1] Erminio Bagnasco is in submarines in World War II. for the electric drive power 1000 HP. The uboat.net gives 2,000 PS (1,491 kW). A comparison with other submarines of this time indicates the lower value. The underwater speed, which is higher than the 600-630-ton type with greater displacement, indicates 2,000 hp, but could also be due to a possibly more aerodynamic shape.

[Französische_U-Bootklassifikation-2] The French Navy distinguished three classes of submarines: 1st class boats were deep-sea boats. 2nd class boats were smaller coastal boats. 3rd class boats were mine layers .

[Baubeginn-3] Erminio Bagnasco gives the year 1924 for the laying of the keel of Redoutable and Vengeur in submarines during World War II . The data given in the text come from uboat.net. Both sources agree on the launch and commissioning.

[Redoutable-Klasse-4] The class should not be confused with the strategic nuclear submarine class of the same name, built during the Cold War and now decommissioned . see: Redoutable class (1967)

[Agosta-Klasse-5] The class should not be confused with the submarine class of the same name from the 1970s. This class was the last conventionally powered French submarine class and is still in service in Pakistan and Spain today . see: Agosta class (1977)

[Friedensverluste-6] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Since the sources used only contain information about boats used in the war, details of their construction and the class of boats sunk in peacetime are not known. Prométhée was lost in 1932, so it can only belong to the class built first. Phénix was lost in 1939, but was assigned to the Redoutable class because the name fits into the scheme.