French submarine Rubis (1931)

The French submarine Rubis (H4, 202, P15) was a Saphir-class minelaying submarine which first served in the French submarine pavilion, then the Free French Naval Forces (FNFL) during the Second World War and back with the French Navy. The boat was awarded numerous awards. Accordingly, as a result of Rubis's service with the FNFL, the boat was made a companion of the Ordre de la Libération by a decree issued by General Charles de Gaulle on 14 October 1941.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Rubis.
Rubis in difficulty in a minefield off Norway
History
France
Name: Rubis
Namesake: Ruby
Builder: Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down: 3 April 1929
Launched: 30 September 1931
Commissioned: 4 April 1933
Stricken: 4 October 1949
Honours and
awards:		 Ordre de la Libération
Fate: Scuttled on 31 January 1958 to be used as sonar target
General characteristics
Class and type: Saphir-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 761 long tons (773 t) (surfaced)
  • 925 long tons (940 t) (submerged)
Length: 65.9 m (216 ft)
Beam: 7.1 m (23 ft)
Draught: 4.3 m (14 ft)
Installed power:
  • 2 × 550 shp (410 kW) (electrical)
  • 2 × 650 shp (480 kW) (diesel)
Propulsion:
  • 2 electrical engines
  • 2 diesel
Speed:
  • Surfaced: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
  • Underwater: 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Range:
  • 7.000 nmi (12.964 km; 8.055 mi) at 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph)
  • Submerged: 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph)
Test depth: 80 m (260 ft)
Complement: 42
Armament:

Career

After serving in Toulon with the 7th and later 5th Submarine Squadrons, in 1937 Rubis was transferred to Cherbourg.

During the Norwegian campaign, in May 1940, Rubis laid mines off the Norwegian coast; the boat's mines claimed four Norwegian vessels in May and June, and a further three merchant ships in July. At the time of the French surrender on 22 June 1940, the boat was in the port of Dundee, Scotland in the United Kingdom, where the boat promptly joined the pavilion of the Free French Forces. At that time, she was commanded by Capitaine de Corvette Georges Cabanier.

Whilst minelaying off Norway in mid-1941, Rubis encountered and torpedoed a Finnish merchant ship. Later in the war, the boat laid mines in the Bay of Biscay, claiming three German auxiliary minesweepers, an armed trawler, and a Vichy French tugboat in 1942, and a fourth auxiliary minesweeper in 1943. Operating off Stavanger in September 1944, the boat's mines claimed two auxiliary submarine chasers and two merchant ships. In October and November, Rubis continued in Norwegian waters, damaging but not sinking two vessels. On 21 December, the boat's mines claimed three auxiliary submarine chasers, a German merchant ship, and a minesweeper.

Throughout the war, Rubis made 22 operational patrols, laying nearly 683 mines and sinking some 21,000 GRT of shipping. With 22 ships sunk (14 of them German, including 12 warships), Rubis achieved the highest kill number in the FNFL.[1]

From 1946 to 1948, she was used as a school ship for rigging in Toulon.

Rubis was struck on 4 October 1949, and was sunk on 31 January 1958 to be used as a sonar target. The wreck lies 41 metres (135 ft) underwater between Cavalaire and Saint-Tropez, and has become a popular diving attraction.

Ships sunk or damaged

1940

1941

1942

1943
  • 10 July 1943: German auxiliary minesweeper M 4451 (formerly Gauleiter A. Meyer), 652 BRT, hits a mine off Arcachon and sinks at 44°58′00″N 01°10′00″W.

1944
  • 26 September 1944: German auxiliary submarine hunter UJ 1106 (formerly Grönland), 464 BRT, hits a mine laid on 24 September and sinks at 58°45′00″N 05°24′00″E.
  • 27 September 1944:
  • 27 October 1944: German Vorpostenboot V 5304 (formerly Seehund) hits a mine laid on 18 October at 60°55′00″N 04°40′00″E. The ship survives with heavy damage.
  • 24 November 1944: Norwegian merchant ship Castor (1,683 BRT), from Egersund, hits a mine laid on the same day and sustain damage.
  • 21 December 1944, off Norway:
    • German cargo ship Weichselland (formerly Latvian Gundega), 3,654 BRT, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks
    • German auxiliary submarine hunter UJ 1113 / KUJ 7, 970 BRT, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks
    • German auxiliary submarine hunter UJ 1116 / KUJ 11, 970 BRT, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks
    • German auxiliary submarine hunter UJ 1702 / KUJ 16, 970 BRT, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks
    • German minesweeper R 402, 140 t, hits a mine laid on 19 December and sinks
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See also

References
  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20131104144623/http://sous-marin.france.pagesperso-orange.fr/Q158.htm


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