Orion class (1931)

Orion class 630 ton type E.
General data
Ship type :	Submarine
Construction series:	630 ton type
Navy :	French Navy Royal Navy
Builders :	A & Chantier Dubigeon ( Nantes ) A. Chantier de la Loire ( Saint-Nazaire )
Units:	2
Boats of the class
Ondine , Orion
Technical specifications
Crew:	41 men
Displacement :	over water: 630 ts under water: 798 ts
Length :	64.4 m
Width:	5.1 m
Draft :	3.9 m
Drive :	Diesel : 1420 PS (1060 kW ) Electric : 1000 PS (746 kW)
Speed :	surfaced: 14 kn (26 km / h ) submerged: 9 kn (17 km / h)
Fuel supply:	60-65 t
Driving range:	surfaced at 10 kn: 4000 NM (7408 km) submerged at 5 kn: 82 NM (152 km)
Diving depth :	80 m
Armament
Artillery :	1 × 76 mm L / 35 deck gun
Air defense :	1 × 8 mm MG
Torpedoes :	6 × 550 mm torpedo tubes 3 fore, 2 amidships, 1 aft 2 × 400mm rear torpedo tubes

The Orion class was a medium submarine - ship class of the French Navy . In the French type classification of the time, it was Class 2 boats . The two boats of the class were built between 1929 and 1932 by A & Chantier Dubigeon in Nantes and A. Chantier de la Loire in Saint-Nazaire . The class is also known as 630-ton Type E , respectively.

At the time of the armistice between Germany and France on June 22, 1940, the two boats were in British ports and were taken over by the Royal Navy in the course of Operation Grasp . The British only used the boats in reserve and in 1943 they were finally eliminated.

Boats of the class

Ondine
- Builder : A & Chantier Dubigeon in Nantes
- Keel laying : August 30, 1929
- Launched : May 4th, 1931
- Commissioning: July 5, 1932
- Location: Confiscated by the British on July 3, 1940, scrapped in April 1943.

Orion
- Builder: A. Chantier de la Loire in Saint-Nazaire
- Keel laid: July 9, 1929
- Launched: April 21, 1931
- Commissioning: July 5, 1932
- Location: Confiscated by the British on July 3, 1940, scrapped in April 1943.

literature

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

Web links

630 tons -Type E on uboat.net (English)

Footnotes

↑ ^a ^b This ondine is the second of the 600/630 tonne type . The first ondine was lost in a collision in 1928. uboat.net assigns the first ondine to the Ariane class . Erminio Bagnasco states the first ondine as a Sirène- class boat in submarines during World War II . Both sources confirm the loss of the Ondine in 1928 and that an Orion-class boat received the same name.

↑ 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 .

[Ondine-1] This ondine is the second of the 600/630 tonne type . The first ondine was lost in a collision in 1928. uboat.net assigns the first ondine to the Ariane class . Erminio Bagnasco states the first ondine as a Sirène- class boat in submarines during World War II . Both sources confirm the loss of the Ondine in 1928 and that an Orion-class boat received the same name.

[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 .