The Saphir-class submarines were a class of six submarines built in France between 1926 and 1935 for the French Navy. Most saw action during World War II for the Vichy French Navy or the Free French Naval Forces. Three were captured by Italian forces but not used.

Design

Saphir-class submarines had a surfaced displacement of and a submerged displacement of . Their dimensions were long, with a beam of and a draught of . Propulsion while surfaced was provided by two Normand-Vickers diesel motors with a total of and while submerged by two electric motors providing a total of through two shafts enabling a maximum speed of while surfaced and while submerged. Their bunkers of of oil fuel gave them a surfaced range of at , and at and their batteries a submerged range of at . They carried a complement of 42 men. Saphir-class submarines could dive up to .

The Saphir-class submarines were designed to launch torpedoes and lay mines without surfacing. The moored contact mines they could lay contained of TNT and could be laid in up to of water. They were attached to the submarine's exterior under a hydrodynamic protection and were jettisoned with compressed air.

Ships Saphir-class submarines Name Laid down launched commissioned fate 25 May 1926 20 December 1928 30 September 1930Captured by Italian forces on 8 December 1942, renamed FR 112. Seized by German forces on 15 September 1943 in Naples and scuttled. 20 October 1926 16 May 1929 10 September 1930 Captured by Italian forces on 8 December 1942, renamed FR 116. Sunk on 6 May 1943 off Tunisia. Subsequently, salved and sold for scrap on 12 August 1947.8 August 192721 March 193015 July 1931Laid down on the centenary of the birth of Jules Verne. Captured by Italian forces on 8 December 1942, then sunk by an air attack on 31 January 1943 at Bizerte. Subsequently, salved and sold for scrap on 12 August 1947. 3 April 1929 30 September 1931 4 April 1933 Used successfully by the Free French Forces from 1940, stricken from the naval register 4 October 1949 and scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea in 1958.21 July 193018 May 193320 June 1934Scuttled on 27 November 1942, at Toulon, refloated in March 1943 by Italy but sunk again in 1944.21 July 193130 July 19351 March 1937Used by the Allies after Operation Torch, sunk on 8 July 1944 by a British plane after being mistaken for a German U-boat at 55°27' North, 33°50' West.

Service During the war, five Saphir-class ships operated in the Mediterranean Sea and only Rubis operated with the Home Fleet. Later, she joined the ranks of the Free French Naval Forces. During its service on the side of the Allies, Rubis was a very effective ship. From April 1940 to the end of 1944, it carried out 22 mine laying operations in the waters off Norway. 15 ships sank on its mines, including minesweepers, 4 small warships, and submarines. In addition, it sank one ship with torpedoes. Only one ship in the Mediterranean Sea changed sides to join the Allies, Perle, which on 8 July 1944 was mistakenly sunk in the Atlantic by an Allied plane.

Of the remaining submarines, Diamant was scuttled at Toulon on 27 November 1942; Nautilus, Saphir and Turquoise were demobilized in Bizerte between 1941 and 1942. After the occupation of Tunis by Axis troops, they were taken over by Italians in December 1942. Saphir was renamed "FR 112", and Turquoise, "FR 116". These ships were unusable and disarmed, remaining in Bizerte until the end of activities in Africa. Shortly before surrendering, the Italians sank them. Only Rubis survived the war and was withdrawn from service on 4 October 1949.

See also

List of submarines of France

References

Bibliography