Minerve-class submarine

Class overview
Name	Minerve class
Builders	Ateliers et Chantiers Dubigeon, Nantes; Arsenal de Cherbourg, Cherbourg; Chantiers Worms, Rouen; Chantiers et Ateliers Augustin Normand, Le Havre;
Operators	French Navy; Free French Naval Forces;
Preceded by	Argonaute class
Succeeded by	Aurore class
Built	1931–1938
In commission	1936–1954
Completed	6
Lost	1
Retired	2
Scrapped	3 (scuttled)
General characteristics
Type	Submarine
Displacement	662 long tons (673 t) surfaced; 856 long tons (870 t) submerged;
Length	68.1 m (223 ft 5 in)
Beam	5.6 m (18 ft 4 in)
Draught	4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	2 × Vickers-Normand diesel engines, 1,800 bhp (1,342 kW); 2 × Electric motors, 1,230 shp (917 kW);
Speed	14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph) surfaced; 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) submerged;
Range	2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 85 nmi (157 km; 98 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged;
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	42
Armament	1 × 75 mm (3 in)/35 Model 1928 deck gun with 150 rounds; 2 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) AA machine guns; 6 × 550 mm (21.7 in) internal torpedo tubes (4 bow/2 stern) with 12 torpedoes; 3 × 400 mm (15.7 in) external torpedo tubes;

Minerve-class submarines were a class of submarine built for the French Navy prior to World War II.

The class were based on the French Admiralty 630 series design, but with more power and better armament. The class had six internal 550 mm torpedo tubes (four in the bow and two in the stern) and three 400 mm tubes mounted externally on a moveable triple mount.

Minerve and Junon were seized by the British in July 1940, following the battle of France, and handed over to the Free French Forces in September the same year, and served throughout the war. Minerve was wrecked off Chesil Beach in September 1945, while Junon returned to France and served until 1954.

The other four boats remained under Vichy control until November 1942 when, following the German occupation, Pallas and Cérès were scuttled at Oran, and Vénus scuttled at Toulon, while Iris sailed for the neutral port of Cartagena, and was interned there until after the end of the war. She was returned to France in November 1945, and remained in service until 1950.

Submarines of the class

Minerve (1934) (Q185)^[2]

Built : Arsenal de Cherbourg, Cherbourg

Laid down : 17 August 1931

Launched : 23 October 1934

Commissioned : 15 September 1936

Fate : Wrecked, 19 September 1945

Junon (1935) (Q186)^[3]

Built : Chantiers et Ateliers Normand, Le Havre

Laid down : 9 June 1932

Launched : 15 September 1935

Commissioned : 20 September 1937

Decommissioned : 6 December 1954

Fate : Scrapped, 1960^[4]

Vénus (Q187)^[5]

Built : Chantiers Worms, Rouen

Laid down : 27 June 1932

Launched : 6 April 1935

Commissioned : 15 November 1936

Fate : Scuttled at Toulon, 27 November 1942

Iris (1934) (Q188)^[6]

Built : Ateliers et Chantiers Dubigeon, Nantes

Laid down : 1 July 1932

Launched : 23 September 1934

Commissioned : 15 September 1936

Fate : Struck, 1 February 1950

Pallas (1938) (Q189)^[7]

Built : Chantiers et Ateliers Normand, Le Havre

Laid down : 19 October 1936

Launched : 25 August 1938

Commissioned : 12 June 1939

Fate : Scuttled at Oran, 9 November 1942

Cérès (1938) (Q190)^[8]

Built : Chantiers Worms, Rouen

Laid down : 8 August 1936

Launched : 9 December 1938

Commissioned : 15 July 1939

Fate : Scuttled at Oran, 9 November 1942

References

^ "PALLAS". alamer.fr. 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Minerve". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Junon". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ Roche, Jean-Michel (2012). "Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom de Junon". netmarine.net (in French). Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Vénus". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Iris". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Pallas". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Céres". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

[1] "PALLAS". alamer.fr. 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.

[2] Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Minerve". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

[3] Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Junon". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

[4] Roche, Jean-Michel (2012). "Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom de Junon". netmarine.net (in French). Retrieved 3 March 2013.

[5] Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Vénus". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

[6] Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Iris". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

[7] Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Pallas". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

[8] Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "Céres". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

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v t e French naval ship classes of World War II
Aircraft carriers	Béarn^S Joffre^X Dixmude^S^LL
Battleships	Courbet Bretagne Dunkerque Richelieu Alsace^X
Heavy cruisers	Duquesne Suffren Algérie^S Saint-Louis^X
Light cruisers	Duguay-Trouin Jeanne d'Arc^S Émile Bertin^S La Galissonnière De Grasse^S^C
Large destroyers	Chacal Guépard Aigle Vauquelin Le Fantasque Mogador
Destroyers	Bourrasque L'Adroit Le Hardi
Torpedo boats	La Melpomène Le Fier^X La Combattante^S^LL
Escorteurs	French Flower Cannon^LL PC-461^LL River^LL
Submarines	Sirène Ariane Circé Argonaute Orion Diane Saphir Requin Redoutable Surcouf^S Minerve Aurore Curie^S^LL Narval^S^LL
Avisos	Arabis Ville d'Ys^S Arras Scarpe Bougainville Élan Amiral Mouchez^S Chamois
Other	Pluton^S (minelaying cruiser) Commandant Teste^S (seaplane tender) Jules Verne^S (submarine tender) Le Gladiateur^S (netlayer) Sans Souci^C^X (seaplane tender)
LL Lend-Lease S Single ship of class C Completed after the war X Cancelled

Submarines of the class

See also

References