French submarine Pluviôse

French submarine Pluviôse (Q51) was the name ship of her class of 18 submarines built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the first decade of the 20th century.

French submarine Pluviôse in Boulogne harbour
History
France
Name: Pluviôse
Namesake: The month of Pluviôse
Builder: Arsenal de Cherbourg
Launched: 27 June 1907
Commissioned: 5 October 1908
Stricken: 1919
Fate: Sunk in collision, 26 May 1910, raised and returned to service
General characteristics (as built)
Type: Submarine
Displacement:
  • 404 t (398 long tons) (surfaced)
  • 553 t (544 long tons) (submerged)
Length: 51.12 m (167 ft 9 in) (o/a)
Beam: 4.96 m (16 ft 3 in)
Draft: 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Installed power:
  • 700 PS (510 kW; 690 bhp) (steam)
  • 2 × du Temple boilers
  • 460 PS (340 kW; 450 bhp) (electric motors)
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) (surfaced)
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (submerged)
Range:
  • 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) (surfaced)
  • 27 nmi (50 km; 31 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) (submerged)
Complement: 2 officers and 23 crewmen
Armament:

Design and description
Right profile diagram of the Pluviôse class

The Pluviôse class were built as part of the French Navy's 1905 building program to a double-hull design by Maxime Laubeuf.[1] The submarines displaced 404 metric tons (398 long tons) surfaced and 553 metric tons (544 long tons) submerged. They had an overall length of 51.12 meters (167 ft 9 in), a beam of 4.96 meters (16 ft 3 in), and a draft of 3.15 meters (10 ft 4 in). Their crew numbered 2 officers and 23 enlisted men.[2]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 350-metric-horsepower (345 bhp; 257 kW) triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by two Du Temple boilers. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 230-metric-horsepower (227 bhp; 169 kW) electric motor.[3] On the surface they were designed to reach a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater.[1] The submarines had a surface endurance of 865 nautical miles (1,602 km; 995 mi) at 11.6 knots (21.5 km/h; 13.3 mph) and a submerged endurance of 70 nmi (130 km; 81 mi) at 2.8 knots (5.2 km/h; 3.2 mph).[4]

The first six boats completed, including Pluviôse, were armed with a single 450-millimeter (17.7 in) internal bow torpedo tube, but after an accident that lead to the sinking of their sister Fresnel in 1909, the tubes were removed from Pluviôse and her sister Messidor. All of the boats were fitted with six 450 mm external torpedo launchers; the pair firing forward were fixed outwards at an angle of seven degrees and the rear pair had an angle of five degrees. Following a ministerial order on 22 February 1910, the aft tubes were reversed so they too fired forward, but at an angle of eight degrees. The other launchers were a rotating pair of Drzewiecki drop collars in a single mount positioned on top of the hull at the stern. They could traverse 150 degrees to each side of the boat. The Pluviôse-class submarines carried eight torpedoes.[5]

Construction and career

Pluviôse, named for the fifth month of the French Republican calendar, was ordered on 26 August 1905 from the Arsenal de Cherbourg. The submarine was laid down in 1906, launched on 27 June 1907 and commissioned on 5 October 1908.[6]

On the afternoon of 26 May 1910 Pluviôse was cruising off Calais when she was involved in a collision with the packet boat Pas de Calais. Pluviôse sank with the loss of all hands, 27 men. The vessel was later raised and repaired, and returned to active service. Her captain at the time of the accident Maurice Callot, was later honoured by having a submarine named after him.

Pluviôse was stricken in 1919 and used for compression tests. She was eventually sold for scrap in 1925.

Notes
  1. Gardiner & Gray, p. 209
  2. Garier 1998, pp. 51, 54, 56, 65
  3. Garier 1998, pp. 56–59
  4. Garier 1998, p. 67
  5. Garier 1998, pp. 59–60
  6. Couhat, p. 140; Garier 1998, p. 49

Bibliography
  • Couhat, Jean Labayle (1974). French Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0445-5.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Garier, Gérard (2002). A l'épreuve de la Grande Guerre. L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). 3–2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-81-5.
  • Garier, Gérard (1998). Des Émeraude (1905-1906) au Charles Brun (1908–1933). L'odyssée technique et humaine du sous-marin en France (in French). 2. Bourg-en-Bresse, France: Marines édition. ISBN 2-909675-34-3.
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