French submarine Alose (1904)

French submarine Alose (Q33) (“Shad”) was a Naïade-class submarine of the Romazotti type. She was built for the French Navy at the beginning of the 20th century. Alose remained in service until just prior to the outbreak of World War I.

History
France
Name: Alose
Namesake: The shad
Builder: Toulon naval Dockyard
Launched: 12 October 1904
Fate: Stricken 1919
Notes: Sunk as target, 1918; raised 1976 and preserved as museum ship
General characteristics [1]
Type: Submarine
Displacement:
  • 70.5 t (69.4 long tons), surfaced
  • 73.6 t (72.4 long tons) submerged
Length: 23.7 m (77 ft 9 in)
Beam: 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Draft: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 7.20kn (surfaced)
  • 5.98kn (submerged)
Range:
  • 200nm at 5.5kn surfaced
  • 30nm at 4.10kn submerged
Complement: 12
Armament: 2 × single 450 mm torpedoes in Drzewiecki drop collars

Design and construction

Alose was ordered by the French Navy under its 1900 building programme, one of a class of twenty. She was designed by Gaston Romazotti, an early French submarine engineer. Alose was built at the Toulon Naval Dockyard and was launched on 12 October 1904. She was single-hulled, with dual propulsion, and constructed of Roma-bronze, a copper alloy of Romazotti's devising. Alose was named for the Shad, an open-water fish of the herring family.[1]

Service history

Alose entered service in July 1907, and was employed on coastal duties, guarding ports and harbours. She was involved in several accidents, though none resulted in serious damage. In November 1906 she was struck by the steamer Mouette in Toulon Roads . In November 1910 she collided with sister ship Bonite, damaging both.[2]

Fate

Alose was stricken in May 1914[1] and was used as a target ship, being sunk off Fréjus in March 1918.

In 1975 the wreck was discovered by French divers off Lion rock, near Saint-Raphaël, Var. She was raised and restored as a museum ship in May 1976, and now stands outside the offices of COMEX in Marseilles.[2]

Notes
  1. Conway p207
  2. French submarine Alose (Q33) at sous-marins francais (archived page; retrieved 25 February 2017. (French)
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References
  • Gardiner R, Gray R: Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1906-1921 (1985) ISBN 085177 245 5
  • Alose at Palissy Heritage database (fr); retrieved 27 February 2017 (French)
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